The EU will come up with a coordinated response to Russia's announcement that gas supplies to EU countries Poland and Bulgaria will be cut off. This was written by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on Twitter.
According to the President of the Commission, the Russian announcement is yet another attempt at blackmail using gas. Russia is a major supplier of natural gas to the EU.
- We are prepared for this scenario. We are planning our coordinated EU response, writes von der Leyen in her tweet.
She also writes that Europeans can be confident that the EU stands together and in solidarity with the affected member states. The Russian gas company Gazprom, which supplies Russian gas to the EU, confirmed on Wednesday that it has stopped deliveries to Poland and Bulgaria.
Gazprom says that supplies will only be resumed when the two EU countries agree to the demand to pay for the gas in rubles. This is reported by Reuters. At the same time, the Russian gas company is warning other EU countries against sharing their Russian gas with Poland and Bulgaria.
Because then the same countries will "reduce their volumes (of Russian gas, ed.) by the same amount" that they supply to the two countries, the company says, according to the Tass news agency.
Gas stop affects business
If Russia ends up cutting off gas to all EU countries, it could have a major impact on business. This is according to Troels Ranis, industry director at DI Energi.
- The Russians have so far only partially cut off gas to Europe. If they close completely, companies in parts of Europe will be in a very serious situation. This will mean that production will have to be temporarily shut down, says Troels Ranis in a comment.
Russia supplies approximately 55 percent of Poland's gas consumption. For Bulgaria, it is close to 90 percent. Both countries have gas reserves, so their companies and households will not be affected with immediate effect.
But the other EU countries are nervously following what is happening. Among them are Germany and Italy, which have become very dependent on Russian gas for a number of years.
Ritzau
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