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ENERGY

Italian energy company to start paying for Russian gas in rubles

Italian energy company Eni confirmed it is opening accounts in rubles with Gazprombank to pay for gas supplies, complying with Moscow's demands.

Published: 17 May 2022 16:55 CEST
Italian energy company to start paying for Russian gas in rubles
The headquarters of Italian oil and gas giant Eni in San Donato Milanese, near Milan. Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO / AFP

Eni said in a statement on Tuesday it was opening accounts in rubles and euros with Gazprom Bank “on a precautionary basis” as “deadlines for the payment of gas supplies are scheduled for the next few days”.

It was not immediately clear whether the move would fall foul of European Union sanctions, although Eni said it was “not incompatible”.

The company said its decision to open the accounts was “taken in compliance with the current international sanctions framework” and that Italian authorities had been informed.

READ ALSO: Italy will ‘soon’ stop buying gas from Russia, says minister

Vladimir Putin demanded at the end of March that payment be made in rubles or the gas supply to European countries would be cut off, as he hit back at sanctions placed on Russia by EU countries following its invasion of Ukraine.
 
Eni’s CEO Claudio Descalzi said at the time that his company would not comply with the demands, saying “Eni doesn’t have rubles” and “the contracts say fuel payments should be made in euros”.
 
But many European companies and their lawyers have since been looking at ways to meet the demand without breaching sanctions aimed at punishing Russia for the war in Ukraine, reports Bloomberg.
 
EU officials had said opening a ruble account would breach sanctions. But its latest guidelines, to be published this week, are expected to stop short of banning bank accounts in rubles and  therefore allow companies to keep buying Russian gas, Bloomberg reports.
 
 
Like other European countries, Italy says it is working to reduce its heavy reliance on Russian energy imports in the wake of the Ukraine war.
 

But the Italian government has so far resisted calls to boycott Russian oil and gas.

Italy is highly dependent on Russian gas, importing 95 percent of the gas it consumes, of which around 40 percent comes from Russia.

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UKRAINE

Italian deputy PM Salvini calls France’s Macron ‘danger’ for Europe

Italy's deputy prime minister, Matteo Salvini, accused French President Emmanuel Macron Saturday of endangering Europe by refusing to rule out sending Western ground troops to Ukraine.

Published: 24 March 2024 09:38 CET
Italian deputy PM Salvini calls France's Macron 'danger' for Europe

The comments by Salvini, whose far-right League party is a member of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s coalition government, came during a gathering in Rome of right-wing and nationalist European leaders to rally support ahead of EU parliamentary elections in June.

Macron’s suggestion last month that Western ground troops could be sent to Ukraine was “extremely dangerous, excessive and out of balance,” Salvini told the event organised by the European Parliament’s Identity and Democracy political group.

“I think that President Macron, with his words, represents a danger for our country and our continent,” Salvini said during his speech, which largely stressed conservative family values.

“The problem isn’t mums and dads but the warmongers like Macron who talk about war as if there were no problem now,” he added.

“I don’t want to leave our children a continent ready to enter World War Three.”

READ ALSO: Macron says ground operations in Ukraine possible ‘at some point’

Portugal’s Andre Ventura, leader of Portugal’s far-right party Chega that surged in a general election earlier this month, also spoke at the event, as did Harald Vilimsky of the Freedom Party of Austria and former US presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, among others.

France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen did not personally attend, instead sending a video message.

The outspoken Salvini, who serves as transport minister, is a hardline populist whose comments have often landed him in hot water.

Earlier this month, he responded to the Russian election result by saying: “When a people vote, they are always right”.

Following the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny last month, he said it was “up to Russian doctors and judges” to determine the cause.

Salvini has previously expressed his admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Macron’s comments last month in which he refused to rule out putting troops on the ground in Ukraine prompted a stern response from Berlin and other European partners.

 
 
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