EC: EU countries agreed to exclude gas from Russia from joint purchase agreements

MOSCOW, November 25 – RIA Novosti. EU energy ministers have agreed to exclude Russian gas from joint purchase agreements. says In a statement on the results of the informal meeting in Brussels.

The bloc countries have agreed to purchase at least 13.5 billion cubic meters of gas, or 15% of the total gas required to fill the storage facilities, in 2023 through the joint purchasing mechanism. It also does not specify what the term “Russian gas” means – whether fuel produced in Russia and purchased through intermediaries should be considered as such.

The mechanism assumes that gas companies will provide the European Commission with data on their needs, EU authorities will hire an intermediary who will calculate the requests and look for a supplier.

Previously, the energy ministers of EU countries tentatively agreed to introduce a mechanism to limit intraday fluctuations in the prices of gas derivatives in the TTF. According to the statement from the European Council, these steps will increase the solidarity of countries in the event of an emergency and gas supply interruption and will ensure better coordination of joint purchases of this energy resource.

Additionally, these measures are designed to limit the volatility of blue fuel prices and establish reliable benchmarks for its cost. According to the draft resolution, EU members will “put a price cap on one-day transactions in the TTF”, which will prevent excessive movement in the cost of the energy source.

On Tuesday, European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson proposed setting a maximum monthly gas futures price of 275 euros per MWh in the TTF central index. The new mechanism to limit increases in fuel prices can be activated from 1 January 2023. According to Josef Sikela, head of the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade, the countries of the union cannot agree on the level of the gas price cap proposed by the European Commission.

The press secretary of the head of state, Dmitry Peskov, said earlier that it is still difficult to assess the impact on the market of the introduction of a ceiling price for Russian oil and gas.

“For now, we are moving from the position of President (Vladimir. – Ed.) Putin, that we will not supply oil and gas to states that will introduce and unite the “ceiling”. However, look, the Kremlin spokesman said, “Of course we must analyze everything before taking a position.”

According to him, Western countries are trying to “make a decision for the sake of a decision, to put a mark” without estimating the impact of their actions.

Due to the special operation in Ukraine, which led to an increase in electricity, fuel and food prices in Europe and the USA, Western countries increased their sanctions against Russia. Vladimir Putin said that cheap and reliable Russian energy sources are a competitive advantage for Europe, and even their partial rejection has already had a negative impact on its economy and residents. And the US is provoking the deindustrialization process of the region by forcing the EU to completely abandon Russian energy carriers and other sources.