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The EU should be open to resuming Russian fuel imports within the occasion of a peace deal being brokered to finish the conflict in Ukraine, Austria has mentioned, regardless of a newly proposed EU-wide ban on Russia’s fossil gas.
Brussels “should preserve the choice to reassess the scenario as soon as the conflict has ended”, the Austrian vitality ministry advised the Monetary Occasions.
Elisabeth Zehetner, the Austrian state secretary for vitality, made an analogous plea to her EU friends at a gathering in Luxembourg on Monday, mentioned diplomats with data of the discussions.
Vienna’s stance marks the primary time since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 that an EU member state apart from Hungary or Slovakia has brazenly floated the resumption of Russian fuel imports as soon as the conflict is over.
The European Fee on Tuesday proposed to regularly ban Russian fuel imports from January 1, with all of the final vestiges of Russian gas to be prohibited by 2028 — whatever the final result of peace talks.
Landlocked international locations resembling Austria, Hungary and Slovakia could be granted longer durations to section out short-term contracts for Russian fuel, whereas the remainder of the bloc must put an finish to these by June 17 2026.
Dan Jørgensen, the EU’s vitality commissioner, mentioned a possible peace deal ought to “not result in us beginning to import Russian fuel once more”.
“That might be a really unwise determination as a result of that might simply be refilling [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s conflict chest with cash. I believe that might be to repeat the errors that we’ve got carried out up to now,” he added.
The EU is utilizing commerce legislation for the proposed ban with a purpose to circumvent any potential veto by Hungary or Slovakia, as reported by the FT on Monday.
The bloc will depend on the “safety exemption” beneath World Commerce Group guidelines. This has been utilized by the Trump administration, with Brussels reluctant to invoke it for worry of the precedent it units for different international locations.
Jørgensen mentioned that in contrast to the sanctions regime, which is topic to unanimous backing by the EU’s 27 governments each six months, the proposed ban “will stand till somebody decides to alter it”. He described the measure as “unprecedented and forceful”.
EU officers mentioned that the ban might lead to arbitration circumstances however that the proposal was clear sufficient for corporations to have the ability to invoke pressure majeure clauses of their contracts.
A number of international locations have raised issues that the authorized foundation for the ban wouldn’t be robust sufficient to allow corporations to name on pressure majeure clauses of their present contracts with out paying hefty penalties to Russia.
In contrast to different fossil fuels — the EU banned Russian coal imports in 2022 and the G7 launched a worth cap on Russian oil in 2023 — fuel has not been topic to EU restrictions. Even so, most international locations have largely stopped importing Russian fuel, notably Germany, though its economic system was severely affected as a consequence. Nonetheless, imports of Russian liquefied pure fuel have elevated, with a file 16.5mn tonnes imported final 12 months.
European officers have beforehand debated whether or not a return to Russian fuel needs to be a part of peace negotiations with Russia — with the fee firmly opposing such a step. Brussels can also be proposing a ban on the Nord Stream pipelines connecting Germany to Russia — a measure endorsed by German chancellor Friedrich Merz as a approach to quell any potential inside discussions about reverting to low cost Russian fuel.
Leonore Gewessler, Austria’s former vitality minister, mentioned on Tuesday that Vienna’s “constructive alerts for renewed fuel imports” from Russia would take the nation “down a totally false path and embarrasses Austria at EU stage”.
Austria has depended closely on Russian pure fuel for many years, importing about 80 per cent of its fuel from the nation earlier than the conflict in Ukraine. This reliance was underpinned by long-term contracts between Russia’s Gazprom and Austria’s OMV, of which the federal government owns 31.5 per cent. OMV reduce ties with Gazprom in a historic break final December following a long-running contract dispute.
Vienna has taken steps to diversify its provide, significantly by sourcing fuel from different European international locations resembling Germany. The nation, which is impartial politically however helps sanctions, has confronted criticism for lagging in decreasing this dependency because the conflict started.
Its neighbours Hungary and Slovakia, which stay depending on Russian fuel and are led by Russia-friendly governments, have been vocal of their opposition to the fee’s plan to finish all Russian fossil gas imports by 2027.
Italy, which imported probably the most Russian fuel final 12 months, based on the think-tank Ember, beforehand additionally floated the choice of resuming fuel imports as soon as the conflict is over, in discussions behind closed doorways.
A spokesperson for the Italian vitality minister declined to remark.
Further reporting by Amy Kazmin in Rome
