Russia wins its showdown with Italy. This Tuesday, Eni, the Italian energy group 30.3% owned by the Italian state, announced its decision to open an account in euros and another in rubles with Gazprombank in order to honor its gas supply payments. Russian deliverable « in the next few days ». A requirement of Vladimir Putin.
« The payment obligation can be fulfilled by the transfer of euros » and the new procedure « should not be incompatible with the existing sanctions » against Moscow imposed by the European Commission, assures Eni. As a reminder, Russian gas represents 40% of Italy’s gas needs.
A counterpoint to the Brussels recommendations
Not sure that will happen. Brussels believes that opening an account in rubles constitutes a breach of sanctions and would lead to infringement procedures by Brussels.
« Anything that goes beyond the guidelines » given by the Commission to member states « would contravene the sanctions », its spokesman Eric Mamer had declared a few hours before Eni’s announcement.
These indications consist of « opening an account in the currency provided for in the contract, making a payment in this currency and making a declaration saying that this closes the payment for the delivery of gas concerned », he specified.
According to Eni, the Russian authorities have confirmed that « invoicing and payment will continue to take place in euros » – the currency agreed by the contracts -, and « an operator of the Moscow Stock Exchange will carry out the conversion into rubles within 48 hours without the intervention of the Central Bank of Russia ».
A Kremlin decree introduced a new payment procedure in two phases, with first a deposit into a Gazprombank account in euros or dollars, then the conversion into rubles on a second account opened with the same establishment. Initially, this conversion mechanism involved a transaction with the Russian Central Bank, which the EU sanctions regime prohibits.
Breach of contracts
This announcement comes as Russia recently cut off its gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria, due to their refusal to pay with Russian currency. As Brussels refuses payments in roubles, the European Commission and the French Presidency of the Council warned in early May that EU countries should prepare for a disruption in its supplies. In their eyes, paying in rubles constitutes « a unilateral and unjustified modification of contracts and it is legitimate to reject it », declared Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson.
“97% of contracts (concluded by European companies) specify the currency for payment and it is either the euro or the US dollar,” she said.
Kadri Simson had also said that he had no knowledge of the opening of accounts in rubles. “Payments are scheduled for mid-May and the majority of companies will respect the rules of the contracts”, she had assured.
Retaliation by Moscow against Poland and Bulgaria
Several Member States had requested clarifications on payment in rubles through the opening of a special account. Poland and Bulgaria had paid for their purchases in the currency provided for in their contracts with Gazprom, the Russian gas giant, and refused to open a second account in rubles. The Russian gas company in retaliation suspended its deliveries, considering that the payment had not been made.
European differences over an embargo on Russian oil
European divergences also concern oil. On Monday, the head of Ukrainian diplomacy Dmytro Kouleba deplored the blocking of the European oil embargo by Hungary, but he said he was confident in its adoption and called on EU member states to « kill exports Russians » to prevent Putin from financing the war against his country.
« The EU’s sixth sanctions package must include an oil embargo and I am sorry that this decision is taking a long time to be adopted, » he said after a meeting in Brussels with his counterparts from the EU. EU.
“Only one country continues to block,” he stressed. « But it is not for me to tell Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban how he should act, » continued Dmytro Kouleba.
Hungary on Monday put the cost of halting its purchases of Russian oil at 15-18 billion euros to explain its request for exemption of supplies by pipeline from the proposed oil embargo of the EU.
For Vladimir Putin, it is impossible for certain European countries to quickly abandon Russian oil, as the European Union wishes.
“It is obvious that some states of the European Union, whose share of Russian hydrocarbons in the energy balance is particularly high, will not be able to do so for a long time, to do without our oil,” said the head. of the Kremlin, adding that by abandoning Russian energy supplies, Europe risked paying the most expensive tariffs in the world in the long term, while the competitiveness of its industry would be undermined.