The EU Commission will not reconsider banning Russian gas if peace comes to Ukraine. This was stated by the EU Commissioner for Energy and Housing, Dan Jørgensen, at a press conference in Strasbourg on Tuesday.
According to Dan Jørgensen, the EU Commission's desire to ban Russian gas is not about the war in Ukraine. Instead, according to Jørgensen, it is about Russia being an unreliable trading partner.
- Let me be very clear about this. This is not a sanction related to the conflict in Ukraine and Russian aggression. This is a ban that we are introducing because Russia has used energy as a weapon against us, and because Russia has blackmailed EU member states. Therefore, they are not a trustworthy trading partner, says Dan Jørgensen.
On Tuesday, the Danish commissioner will present more details from the EU Commission's so-called RePowerEU plan, which will ban imports of Russian gas from the end of 2027.
Previously, the President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has said that it would be a historic mistake to open up to Russian gas when the war in Ukraine ends.
- We must make it very clear that the era in which Europe is dominated by Russian fossil fuels has now come to an end, says von der Leyen.
Dan Jørgensen emphasizes the same thing on Tuesday.
- This also means that regardless of whether there is peace or not, this ban will remain in force, he says.
The Commission's plan has met with criticism from Slovakia and Hungary, who believe that they cannot do without Russian gas in their energy supply. The countries believe that it will be too expensive for their citizens to use alternative energy sources.
Therefore, a proposal has been made to return to Russian gas if peace is reached between Russia and Ukraine.
There are also other countries that are expected to be economically affected by the import ban. This applies to countries such as Germany, Spain and Belgium, which currently import large quantities of gas from Russia.
/ritzau/
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