EU warns of breakdown in gas supply as it rejects demand to pay in roubles

‘Germany is not against an oil ban on Russia. Of course it is a heavy load to bear but we would be ready to do that’

THE European Union has warned member states to be prepared for a complete breakdown in Russian gas supply as it refused to cede to Vladimir Putin’s demand to payfor imports in roubles.

The European Commission will today propose to member states a new package of sanctions to punish Mr Putin for his invasion of Ukraine, including an embargo on Russian oil, officials said.

Following a meeting by energy and environment ministers Brussels yesterday, Kadri Simson, the European commissioner for energy, said the 27 member states would stockpile gas to be prepared for a breakdown.

Ms Simson said that “following the full procedure as set out by Russia constitutes a breach of sanctions” imposed by the EU.

Meanwhile, Germany said yesterday it was prepared to back an immediate European Union embargo on Russian oil – a major shift from Moscow’s biggest energy customer that could let Europe impose such a ban within days.

Russia’s energy exports – by far its biggest source of income – have so far largely been exempt from international sanctions over the war in Ukraine. Kyiv says that loophole means European countries are funding the Kremlin war effort, sending Moscow hundreds of millions of euros every day.

Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, who has been more cautious than other Western leaders in backing Ukraine, has been under pressure to take a firmer line, including from within the Social Democrats’ own governing coalition.

“Germany is not against an oil ban on Russia. Of course it is a heavy load to bear but we would be ready to do that,” the economy minister Robert Habeck, of the Greens, told reporters before talks with his EU colleagues in Brussels.

“With coal and oil, it is possible to forgo Russian imports now,” the finance minister Christian Lindner, of the probusiness FDP, told Die Welt newspaper. “It can’t be ruled out that fuel prices could rise.”

Germany had already reduced the share of Russian oil in its imports to 12 per cent from 35 per cent before Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb 24, but had previously said it needed months to phase out Russian crude to lessen the economic impact at home.

Eastern parts of Germany in particular rely on fuel from a refinery owned by Russia’s state oil company Rosneft.