Russia cuts off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria: EU calls such actions 'blackmail'

Gazprom has completely suspended gas supplies to Bulgargaz (Bulgaria) and PGNiG (Poland). Such a decision, as stated in a statement by Gazprom, was made “due to non-payment in rubles,” reports Meduza.

Photo: Shutterstock

“As of the end of business day on April 26, Gazprom Export had not received payments for gas supplies in April from the companies Bulgargaz and PGNiG in rubles, in accordance with Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 172 dated March 31.03.2022, 1. Payments for gas supplied from April XNUMX, must be carried out in rubles using new details, of which the counterparties were informed in a timely manner,” the statement says.

In the event of unauthorized withdrawal of Russian gas from transit volumes to third countries, as Gazprom warned, supplies for transit will be reduced by this volume.

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The European Commission described the decision to stop supplies as an attempt to "blackmail" and said it was coordinating the response of EU member states, reports CNN.

“Europeans can rest assured that we are united and in full solidarity with the Member States that are facing this new challenge. Europeans can count on our full support,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

She added that a gas crisis management group, made up of EU member states and industry representatives, met on April 27 to discuss the coordination of supplies.

Polish government spokesman for strategic energy infrastructure Piotr Naimsky said his country is no longer going to buy Russian gas.

The Polish authorities stated several years ago that they were not going to renew the contract for the purchase of gas, which ends on December 31, 2022. Poland is going to replace Russian gas with Norwegian gas, which should be supplied through the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline under construction.

Now Poland's underground gas storage facilities are almost 80% full.

“The balance is supplemented by our own gas production and fuel reserves accumulated in underground gas storage facilities. Currently, the warehouse occupancy rate is about 80 percent, which is significantly higher than in the corresponding period of previous years,” the department added.

Polish climate minister Anna Moskva said on April 26 that there would be no shortage of gas in Poland, despite the cessation of exports from Russia.

“Poland has the necessary gas reserves and supply sources that protect our security - we have been virtually independent from Russia for many years,” she wrote on Twitter.

Gazprom also told Bulgargaz that it would cut off gas supplies from April 27, according to a statement from the Bulgarian energy ministry. The ministry said payment in rubles was unacceptable and posed "significant risks" for Bulgaria.

The statement says that the Bulgarian side "fulfilled its obligations and made all payments required under this contract, in a timely manner, in good faith and in accordance with its provisions."

The news sent U.S. natural gas futures up about 3% on April 26. European gas prices jumped almost 20% on April 27 in the morning.

According to CNN experts, European countries vary in their dependence on Russian gas as a percentage of other sources of gas and energy. The approximate level of dependence varies from 0% to 25%:

• Hungary 25%
• Slovakia 22%
• Moldova 17%
• Austria 15%
• Germany 14%
• Bulgaria 12%
• Greece 12%
• Ukraine 11%
• Poland 11%
• Italy 10%
• Slovenia 10%
• Luxembourg 9%
• Estonia 9%
• Serbia 9%
• Latvia 8%
• Lithuania 8%
• Romania 7%
• Switzerland 7%
• Croatia 5%
• Denmark 4%
• Finland 3%
• Macedonia 2%
• Netherlands 2%
• France 2%
• Belgium 1%
• Britain 0%
• Spain 0%
• Ireland 0%
• Portugal 0%
• Cyprus 0%
• Malta 0%

So far there is no official update.

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Since April 1, the Russian authorities have demanded that "unfriendly countries", which the Russian authorities include, including all EU states, make payments for gas supplies in Russian rubles. To do this, foreign buyers must open an account with Gazprombank. Putin said that in case of refusal to pay in rubles, "the existing contracts will be stopped." The European Commission considered that the fulfillment of these requirements by Russia would be a violation of the sanctions.

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