The German Ministry of Economy and Energy assured this Friday, through a spokesman, that the rules by which Russian gas is paid in euros “are still in force” and that it is not aware that German companies are willing to do so in rubles. These statements come after several European companies (including German ones) were looking for ways to pay for gas in rubles.
The government source, Stephan Gabriel Haufe, stressed that the companies about which “speculation” has been published in the media, in reference to the energy company Uniper, have denied such information.
“Where do the rumors come from?”
“Nothing has changed,” he said, at a press conference in Berlin, and urged to ask “where do the rumors come from” according to which various companies are preparing to pay for Russian gas purchases in rubles.
Uniper “has made it clear” that it “adheres” to the guidelines provided by the European Commission (EC) this Thursday, according to which making payments in euros to accounts located in Russia does not violate sanctions against Moscow, he explained.
Haufe assured that the position of the German Government is “clear” and that existing contracts must be fulfilled through transfers in euros or dollars, although he declined to confirm whether companies such as Uniper have already opened accounts in Russia so that it is the bank itself that convert to rubles below.
“For us it’s not about the account number and whether one or two accounts are opened, it’s about making payments in euros and dollars as stated in the contracts,” he underlined once again.
Uniper, the largest foreign client of Russian gas according to the German public television ARD, must face the next payment to the Russian Gazprom next May.
“We believe that it is possible to make a modification of the payments so that they are in accordance with the sanctions and the Russian decree,” a company spokesman told the network on Thursday, referring to Moscow’s demand that “hostile countries ” make the payment in rubles. “Uniper will continue to pay in euros,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Austrian OMV, which, according to the “Financial Times” newspaper, was preparing to open an account in rubles in Switzerland, denied this information in statements to the same channel, which it described as “erroneous.”
Also this Thursday it transpired that the Italian hydrocarbon giant ENI is studying opening accounts in rubles at Gazprombank as a precautionary measure to be able to continue paying its gas purchase contracts, sources familiar with the situation confirmed to EFE.
Nuances about oil
On the other hand, the same spokesman has clarified this Friday Berlin’s position on and said that, although the Government is not opposed, there are still “many questions” open.
“The minister (of Economy, Robert Habeck) has said that if the embargo is debated with other European ministers, he would not hinder it, he would not oppose it, but he has many open questions and he thinks it is reasonable and important that the alternatives be discussed,” stated the spokesman, Stephan Gabriel Haufe, at a press conference in Berlin.
The government source thus specified some statements by Habeck, on a working visit to Warsaw, where he pointed out that in a matter of a few days Germany would be in a position to be independent of Russian oil.
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