Translated material
FT: EU will provide member countries with the right to block gas imports from the Russian Federation
The European Union has prepared a bill that will allow member countries to independently block gas import from Russia. It is reported by Financial Times .
According to the draft document, which is at the disposal of the publication, any EU country will be able to "partially or, where it is justified, to completely limit" access to companies from Russia and Belarus to its gas pipelines and terminals of liquefied natural gas (LNG). According to a senior EU official, this proposal will allow European energy companies to terminate contracts with Russian gas suppliers without paying significant compensation.
After the start of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the European Union countries imposed rigid economic sanctions on Russia. In addition, they headed to refuse to import energy carriers - oil and gas - from Russia.
According to the publication, although the European Union gradually reduced its dependence on Russian energy carriers after the outbreak of war in Ukraine, it still receives about a tenth of gas supplies from Russia. Some countries, in particular Austria and Hungary, are still largely dependent on the supply of Russian gas.
In November, the export of Russian LNG to Europe turned out to be the highest in history - 1.75 million tons. One of the largest importers of liquefied gas from Russia are Spain and Belgium.
The European parliament is expected to approve the draft document on Friday.