The European Commission sent new guidelines to Member States on Friday 13 May on how to pay for Russian gas without violating EU sanctions against Russia.
The basic position of the institution remains unchanged: the payment process set out in the Russian decree of 31 March is a violation of EU sanctions, but EU companies have the option to continue to pay in euros or dollars, in accordance with agreed contracts.
The decree requires importers of Russian gas from “unfriendly countries” to purchase their gas in a two-step process: euros or dollars paid by European companies must then be converted into roubles for the payment to be considered as having been made.
This would “allow Russia to involve the Russian Central Bank in this process, through a number of transactions linked to the management of the Central Bank’s assets and reserves, which is prohibited under the EU sanctions”, the new guidelines requested by the Member States (see EUROPE 12943/1) says.
On the other hand, EU sanctions against Russia do not prevent European companies from opening an account with the Russian bank Gazprombank, provided that payments are made in the currency specified in the contracts (i.e. in euros or dollars in 97% of cases) and on the understanding that such payments permanently release the company from its payment obligations.
The institution also added: “For that purpose, those operators should make a clear statement that they intend to fulfil their obligations under existing contracts and consider their contractual obligations regarding the payment already fulfilled by paying in euros or dollars, in line with the existing contracts”. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)