“Both countries are the largest buyers of Russian liquefied natural gas in”, – WRITE: www.radiosvoboda.org
France, according to the publication, prefers the strategy for finding alternative gas sources – it is a plan to replace Russian fuel supplies with catarrh products.
Energy Minister Mark Ferrachci said France “supports the strategy of reducing risks from Russian fossil fuels”, but the ban on the European level will mean that “no one can import liquefied natural gas from Russia.
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He also expressed fears that private firms may face Russian lawsuits due to terminated contracts. For example, the French company Totalenergies is connected with a contract with a “novate” by 2032 and has a 20 percent share in Yamal’s project, which manages the PPG production plant in Siberia.
Belgium, in turn, wants to report a detailed description of economic consequences before making a decision. Both countries are the largest buyers of Russian liquefied natural gas in the European Union.
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The other two large importers – Spain and the Netherlands – stated that they were ready to support the European Commission’s initiative, which will prohibit short -term gas purchases this year and long -term contracts by 2027. The positions of these four countries will be crucial for the European Commission.
According to KPler, France, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands last year, 16.77 million tons of Russian PPGs were imported, which is 97 percent of the EU’s total imports and more than half of Russia.