On Friday 1 March, around sixty MEPs signed a letter initiated by Ville Niinistö (Greens/EFA, Finnish), calling on the European Commission and the Council of the EU to immediately ban Russian energy commodities from the EU market.
In this letter, seen by EUROPE, the MEPs point out that the ‘gas’ package, on which a provisional agreement has recently been reached (see EUROPE 13334/14), will enable Member States, on a voluntary basis, to put an end to purchases of Russian gas.
They add that this gas from Russia has not yet been subject to any sanctions under the EU’s sanctions packages (see EUROPE 12996/16).
They also regret that the EU “remains the largest customer of Russian pipeline and liquefied natural gas” (see other news).
Countries such as Hungary, Slovakia and Austria remain highly dependent on imports from Russia.
“The time for half-measures has passed. We call on the Commission and the Council to demonstrate leadership and stand firmly in the ongoing effort of the democratic world to push back against the onslaught of the malign authoritarian actors”, insist the signatories. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)