“The European Commissioner for Energy, Dan Jorgensen, said that the European Union will not return to the purchase of Russian oil and gas even after the end of the war unleashed by the Russian Federation against Ukraine.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Dan Jorgensen. NICOLAS TUCAT / AFP via Getty Images Source: “European Truth” with reference to his interview with Euronews
Details: Jorgensen called the ban on Russian pipeline gas and LNG a “point of no return” for the EU.
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“Even when peace comes, we will no longer buy Russian gas. The agreement will be valid even after the peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. We must not repeat the mistake of becoming dependent on Russian gas again,” he added.
In this context, the European Commissioner recalled the jump in energy prices that shook the European economy after February 2022.
He also regretted Hungary’s reaction: Budapest said it would challenge the European Commission’s proposal.
“I don’t really understand these countries (Hungary and Slovakia). I believe that we should stand side by side against Putin in order to help our friends in Ukraine,” said the European Commissioner, noting that the European Commission is ready to help all EU countries that are threatened by disruptions in energy supplies.
Jørgensen also talked about the difficulties MEPs faced during the tough debates. The draft law had to be adopted as a trade procedure, and not as a sanction, since there was no unanimity on this issue, and sanctions must be unanimously approved by all 27 EU countries.
“The implementation will take place gradually and in such a way as not to have negative consequences,” Jorgensen said.
As “EP” reported, on Tuesday, December 2, the presidency of the EU Council and interlocutors of the European Parliament reached a preliminary agreement on the gradual rejection of Russian gas imports until the end of 2027.
Ursula von der Leyen stated that the European Union currently pays Russia 1.5 billion euros per month for the import of fossil fuels, but intends to reduce this figure to zero.
At the beginning of next year, the European Commission will present a legislative proposal on a complete ban on the import of Russian oil to the EU.