“From day one, with my teams, we prepared” to a halt in Russian gas imports, assures Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Saturday April 30 on France Inter, while a sixth package of sanctions against Russia, after its invasion of Ukraine, is under discussion with the 27 member countries of the European Union.
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“We import 155 billion cubic meters per year of Russian gas, we immediately started to build a plan just in case”he explains, although the gas does not “not part of the materials that are put on the sanctions list” for the sixth package, unlike fuel oil, for example. “We are ready” in the event of an embargo, says the European Commissioner.
Why, in this case, not immediately apply an embargo on imports of Russian gas? “In this outing, we also manage our interests. And our interests are that we go there crescendo” in the sanctions to be applied against Russia. “Today we have an addiction” against Russian gas, he concedes, but “we are going to get out of this addiction, it has been clearly announced”. According to Thierry Breton, on the one hand, you have to manage the “interests” of the European Union, while continuing to “increase the pressure on Russia”.
“You shouldn’t have your hand shaking.”
Thierry Breton, European Commissionerat France Inter
“We have a whole battery of solutions over the year”, assures Thierry Breton. For example, “solutions with liquefied natural gas for 50 billion cubic meters”but also “an increase in gas that would come from existing pipelines in Azerbaijan or southern Europe”or “to extend the nuclear power stations which were to be closed, Belgium has just done so for two power stations.”
A meeting is scheduled for Monday in Brussels, between the 27 economy ministers of EU member countries, on the issue of energy and the dependence of European countries on Russia.