Russia says it's cutting off its natural-gas supply to the Netherlands as the Dutch refuse to pay in rubles. Denmark could be next.
Business InsiderNov 03, 2022
Russian energy giant Gazprom said on Tues. it has cut natural gas supply to the Netherlands after Dutch trader GasTerra refused to pay in rubles for gas delivered in April.
This follows a Mar. 31 decree in which Pres. Putin demanded that natural gas payments be made in the Russian currency. This would entail opening a euro and ruble account with Gazprombank in Moscow to process payments.
This situation is another example of why the EU needs to become independent from Russian gas. According to the contract, Gazprom's customers in the EU should make their payments in euros, and they have no legal obligation to pay in rubles. This is a breach of contract from Moscow.
The EU Commission bares blame here. The Commission's guidance regarding payment methods and sanctions has been inconsistent. In a preliminary finding, the Commission warned that alternative gas payment methods would lead to a breach of EU sanctions, but in Apr., it said the opposite. This utter confusion has led to the current crisis.