Major energy firms in Italy, Germany and elsewhere in Europe are allegedly preparing to open accounts in Russian roubles in order to pay for Russian gas in a scheme that may sidestep sanctions.
Italian energy giant Eni SpA is allegedly making moves to open a rouble-denominated account with Gazprombank, the bank of the Russian energy company Gazprom, after the Russian company announced a scheme that would allow companies to get around European Union sanctions against Russia.
The proposed scheme would see companies pay Gazprombank in euros or U.S. dollars, which would then be converted into roubles by the bank and placed in a rouble account owned by the buyer. The rouble account would then be used to purchase Russian energy.
Eni is allegedly in the process of creating a rouble account, which would allow it to participate in the scheme and avoid violating sanctions, Bloomberg reports.
Italy relies on gas for around half of its overall energy needs and 50 per cent of that gas is imported from Russia, leading to speculation that the government may have to ration gas supplies if it cannot find a way to work around sanctions.
Germany, the largest importer of Russian gas in Europe, has resisted calls for an embargo on Russian gas supplies and now energy firm Uniper has stated it is ready to meet demands from Russia to pay for gas in roubles as well.
“We consider a payment conversion compliant with sanctions law and the Russian decree to be possible,” a spokesman for the company said this week.
“For our company and for Germany as a whole, it is not possible to do without Russian gas in the short term; this would have dramatic consequences for our economy,” the spokesman added.
RWE, Germany’s largest energy supplier, has yet to comment on whether it will also be opening a rouble account with Gazprombank.
Greece, another large importer of Russian gas, has also claimed it will continue to purchase Russian energy without violating sanctions, leading some to speculate that it will also be using the Gazprombank scheme to make future purchases.
European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis spoke out on the issue on Thursday, claiming that companies who do purchase Russian gas in roubles may face legal actions.
“It’s a relatively complex setting,” Dombrovski said.
“So on the one hand, it’s [European Union] member states which are monitoring the implementation of sanctions by concrete companies in their territory. But on the other hand, as [the] European Commission, we are monitoring whether member states are actually enforcing sanctions,” he continued.
“If we see that this is not the case, there is also a possibility for the European Commission to start infringement procedures in this regard,” he added.