Energy businesses in the EU’s 27-nation bloc that accede to Moscow’s demands to pay for gas delivery in roubles will be in violation of the bloc’s sanctions; according to the head of the EU’s executive Commission.
“About 97 percent of all contracts expressly state that payments would be made in euros or dollars, so it’s extremely clear.” “And the Russian desire to pay in roubles is a unilateral choice that does not follow the contracts,” Ursula von der Leyen said during a press conference in Brussels.
Von von Leyen also called Russia’s decision to shut off supplies to Poland and Bulgaria a “provocation by the Kremlin,” adding that both nations are now receiving gas from their EU neighbours as a result of an emergency meeting of member states.
It comes as no surprise that the Kremlin uses fossil fuels to blackmail us.
This is something the @EU_Commission has been preparing for, with Member States and international partners.
Our response will be immediate, united and coordinated.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) April 27, 2022
