Brussels assumes that there will be no unanimity for a joint veto and encourages less dependent countries to cut their ties with Moscow
The difficulties for the Twenty-seven to pronounce with a single voice on the embargo on Russian oil and gas have led Brussels to open the door for each State to take action individually on this issue. “Europe is committed to reducing energy dependence on Russia and any action by countries in this regard will be welcome,” said a spokesman for the Community Executive on Friday.
European unity in the face of Russian aggression against Ukraine began to fade in the fifth package of sanctions, the first to include energy punishments. Despite the fact that Europe finally approved the ban on coal imports from Moscow, Germany, Hungary and Austria have warned that they will block any embargo on Russian gas and oil, due to its great dependence on this supply. In fact, Berlin calculates that it will take a year to cut off the tap to Russia. On the contrary, countries such as Spain and France have been in favor of an urgent energy veto and have urged the EU to make a decision in this regard.
The procedure for approving sanctions against Russia requires unanimity in the European Council, so the community bloc assumes that the embargo on Russian energy will be done at two speeds and encourages those less dependent countries to cut their ties with Moscow.
The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, spoke in the same vein in an interview with several LENA alliance media, where he assumed that there will not be a joint veto. At least in the short term. “It will not be unanimously, but countries can act to cut off Russian oil and gas,” he noted.
The EU is working against the clock to reduce its energy dependence on Russia, a country from which it imports 26.9% of its oil and 45.3% of its natural gas, an energy bill that moves close to 800 million euros a day. These important figures led the French government to recently point out that any sanction without an energy veto will be “empty”, since it will not stop the Russian war machine.
The importance of China
So does the US, which has already committed to supplying 15 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe this year. But for the Western blockade to really impact the Kremlin, China’s collaboration is also necessary. During a diplomatic meeting, Brussels and Washington demanded greater clarity from Beijing on Friday in its position on the Russian invasion and to guarantee that it will not help Moscow to avoid economic punishment.
The deputy secretary general of the EU External Action Service, Stefano Sannino, stated that at the moment Europe “does not see signs” that the Asian giant is supporting Russia in the war. However, he assured that “we would like to have a clearer statement from China that this is a war of aggression and point to Putin’s responsibility,” he added.
Despite the fact that the diplomatic channel with the Kremlin is practically dead, the Austrian foreign minister traveled to Moscow in early April to meet with the Russian leader and, this Friday, the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, had a telephone conversation for hours and a half with Vladimir Putin. In it, the community leader requested that the Russian Army allow humanitarian access to Mariupol and guarantee humanitarian corridors in the area to evacuate civilians trapped in cities besieged by Russian troops.
In the talk that, according to community sources, was “substantial” and “long”, Michel reaffirmed the European position of support for Ukraine and its sovereignty and the denunciation of the Russian attack. “Our unity, principles and values are inviolable,” he assured, while insisting that war is “unacceptable.”
For its part, the Kremlin indicated that Putin regretted that the leaders of “most EU countries, with their actions, indulge in open Russophobia, which manifests itself, for example, in the cultural, humanitarian and sports spheres.” ».