According to two diplomats of the European Union /EU/ European Commission is considering sanctions vs Russian liquefied natural gas /LNG/ – a move that will mark the first time Brussels has dared to encroach on Moscow’s gas sector, Politico reports.
The Commission, the EU’s executive body, is currently preparing 14th package of sanctions against Russia more than 2 years after the Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to enter Ukraine.
The new measures could include restrictions on three Russian LNG projects and on the re-export of Russian LNG from EU ports, diplomats said.
So far, Brussels has imposed a complete ban on Russian exports of coal and crude oil by sea to the EU, but failed to reach a consensus on gas restrictions amid opposition from countries such as Hungary, which remain heavily dependent on imports from Moscow. However The EU reduced its dependence on Russia in gas imports by about two-thirds since the start of the full-scale invasion through a combination of sudden supply cuts from Moscow and switching suppliers with Norway and the US. Although Russian liquefied natural gas made up only 5% of EU energy consumption last year, the bloc still paid the Kremlin approx 8 billion euros for its exports, which arrived mainly at ports in France, Spain and Belgium.
However, the new proposals would not ban purchases of Russian LNG in the bloc, but rather deal with cargoes that arrive at EU ports only to be shipped elsewhere.
EU ambassadors will discuss the Commission’s new proposal early next month.
