The bloc’s foreign policy chief says there is no “unified position” among member countries
EU (European Union) foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said there is no “unified position” among member states for a complete embargo or the adoption of a punitive tariff on oil and gas imports from Russia. The European Commission is considering a new package of sanctions on the Kremlin – the 6th since the February 24 invasion of Ukraine.
“A final proposal for an oil and gas embargo [russos] not yet on the table”, declared Borrell in an interview with the German newspaper Die Welt published this Monday (25.Apr.2022). “Some member states have said very clearly that they would not support an embargo or punitive tariff on Russian oil or gas. This means that we still do not have unanimity in the EU to decide.”
Europe is an important market for Russian oil and natural gas. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen declared in March that the bloc has a plan to be fossil fuel-independent from Russia by 2030 and accelerate the transition to renewable energy.
According to Borrell, Russia’s dependence on the acquisition of natural gas is the most difficult to overcome. He said the bloc needed to find enough alternative sources before completely abandoning fossil fuels coming from Russia.
“At some point it will happen”, he stated. “The entire EU is in crisis mode. Every time I call a member country’s foreign minister and ask where he is in the world, he says he’s buying gas. They are in the Middle East, in Congo, in Algeria, somewhere in the world, buying gas“, continued.
“The EU has already drastically reduced its dependence on Russian energy supplies”, he declared, stating that Russian President Vladimir Putin will realize the financial impacts of this reduction “in a few weeks”.
Borrell said the block “recognized too late how dangerous Putin is”. According to him, the EU should “have reduced dependence on Russian oil and gas long before”.
#deal #Russian #energy #embargo #Borrell