The EU is not going to refuse to Russian liquefied natural gas – POLITICO
29 January 16:32
The new package of anti-Russian sanctions imposed by the European Union will again not include a ban on the purchase of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG). This was reported by POLITICO, citing information from EU diplomats who wished to remain anonymous, reports Komersant ukrainskyi.
The European Commission is to present its 16th package of sanctions against Russia today, January 29. However, instead of a complete ban on LNG imports, as some EU countries demanded, the package will only include restrictions on Russian LNG supplies to EU terminals that are not connected to the EU gas system. This restriction will not affect the majority of LNG imports.
The absence of a complete ban on LNG disappointed supporters of a hard line on Russia in the EU. Last month, 10 EU countries, including Finland, Poland, and the Baltic states, called on the European Commission to “ban Russian gas and LNG imports as soon as possible.”
Lithuanian Energy Minister Žygimantas Vaičiūnas expressed his disappointment that this was not done, but noted that the country still hopes for a future EU roadmap to cut all energy ties with Russia.
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What the new sanctions package will include
In addition to the LNG issue, the new sanctions package will include:
- Penalties for an additional 74 tankers belonging to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet and engaged in oil exports.
- Restrictions on imports of Russian aluminum (currently, 6% of the EU’s aluminum imports still come from Russia).
- Restrictions on gaming equipment, including Microsoft’s Xbox, which the EU claims Russia uses to control drones.
It is important to note that the new package of sanctions comes amidst reports of record purchases of Russian LNG by the EU. Although the EU has already banned most imports of Russian coal and oil, restrictions on gas purchases have not yet been imposed due to the resistance of countries such as Hungary. Thus, in 2023, LNG exports from Russia to the EU increased by almost 20% compared to the previous year. And since the new year, the EU has been importing a record amount of Russian gas.
Most of Russia’s LNG arrives at ports in Spain, Belgium, and France from the Yamal plant in northern Siberia. Other EU countries depend on indirect LNG purchases – for example, Russian LNG accounted for up to 9% of Germany’s gas imports in 2023.
Europe and gas
As of the beginning of 2022, the EU was 40% dependent on Russian gas. In 2021, 65% of the gas purchased by Germany was Russian. In the third quarter of 2023, only 12% of the gas imported by the EU remained Russian.
At the same time, some EU countries, such as Hungary and Slovakia, remain dependent on Russian gas. These countries’ contracts with Gazprom provide for gas supplies through the Ukrainian gas transportation system. Austria has signed a contract for gas supplies until 2040, but it has already declared that it has become independent of Russian fuel.
After both Nord Stream and the Ukrainian gas transportation system are shut down, Russia will be able to supply gas to Europe only through the Turkish Stream.
According to the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, the European Union has purchased 212 billion euros worth of energy from Russia.