EU admits spending more on Russian energy than Ukrainian aid

[beijingwalker]

EU admits spending more on Russian energy than Ukrainian aid​

Thursday, 7 April 2022
By Belle de Jong

Josep Borrell, EU's top diplomat and Foreign Policy Chief. Credit: EU

The EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell has admitted that the EU has spent €35 billion on Russian energy and only €1 billion on aid for Ukraine, since the beginning of the invasion on February 24.

While €1 billion may seem like a lot, it is the amount the EU is paying to Vladimir Putin every day for the energy he provides the continent with, said Borrell.

“Since the start of the war, we’ve given him €35 billion, compared to the €1 billion we’ve given Ukraine to arm itself. Zelenskyy needs us to tell him less often that he is a hero and give him more weapons to fight,” Borrell told the European Parliament on Wednesday.

“That’s what Ukrainians expect from us and that’s what we’re doing, and we must do it faster – putting pressure on Russia and arming Ukraine.”

https://twitter.com/x/status/1511607375681183748

Energy dependency​

European importers pay €775 million for Russian oil and natural gas each day. Last year, the total amounted to over €99 million – money that has been credited with funding the Kremlin’s war machine.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Europe’s dependency on Russian oil, gas and coal has been of growing concern, both because of the economic support to the country and the leverage it gives Putin.

There have been continuous calls for the end of dependency on Russian gas, particularly by Poland and the Baltic states, and Lithuania has been the first European country to close Russia’s gas tap entirely.

The EU has been pressing Norway in an attempt to shift its energy reliance from Russia to Scandinavia, while also aiming to accelerate the shift to renewable sources of energy.

These bottlenecks have caused a serious energy crisis in Europe. However, countries that are heavily reliant on gas from Russia, such as Germany, have expressed concern regarding moving away from the country’s energy sources, as it will cause energy prices to continue increasing, which might cause the support for Ukraine to falter.

Costing lives​

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has asked Western countries to ban Russian oil imports, saying “Ukrainians are dying because such an embargo has not yet been put in place” in his daily video message.

He also addressed the recently announced sanctions, calling them “spectacular, but not enough”. In addition, Zelenskyy is asking for a complete shutdown of Russian banks from the international payment system.

More sanctions​

The fifth package of sanctions proposed by the European Commission on Tuesday in response to the horrific war crimes in Bucha include a ban on imports of Russian coal, representing around €4 billion, but fell short of proposing a ban on Russian gas imports.

“Today we put an end to coal, but that’s a very small fraction of the total bill,” Borrell said. “Our independence, our energy autonomy, is contingent upon renewable energy and, for the first time, geopolitics and climate change shake hands in a common goal.”

These latest measures are currently under discussion by the 27 member states, who will have to approve them unanimously – which might prove a challenge, given Hungary’s close ties with Putin since the recent re-election of Viktor Orbán.

EU admits spending more on Russian energy than Ukrainian aid

"Zelenskyy needs us to tell him less often that he is a hero and give him more weapons to fight," Borrell told the European Parliament.

www.brusselstimes.com

 

[beijingwalker]

Now we know who is actually the biggest sponsor of the Ukraine war.

 

[kingQamaR]

From the very start Britain said to the EU don't open yourself up to energy blackmail by Putin. Angela Merkel ignored us and made Germany dependent on Russia, now guess what's happened

 

[chinasun]

Scott Ritter
@RealScottRitter
Former United Nations Weapons Inspector, former Marine Corps Intelligence Officer, author, analyst.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1511519742741614593

https://twitter.com/x/status/1511308091417153536

https://twitter.com/x/status/1511308091417153536

https://twitter.com/x/status/1510560551449026562

 

[beijingwalker]

Europe sanctions Russian coal but not oil and gas​

Lily Jamali
Apr 8, 2022

The European Union adopted new sanctions against Russia on Friday. They include banning coal imports, making this the first time European sanctions have targeted Russian energy.

The sanctions are a response to reports of atrocities committed by Russian forces in Bucha and other parts of Ukraine. Europe imports plenty of Russian coal, but is far more dependent on oil and natural gas, and with prices skyrocketing since the war, the Russian government has benefitted.

High oil and gas prices since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have helped it fund its war, according to Ian Johnson, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

“It is an irony of the situation that the very turmoil that this caused has led to Russia benefiting from it by having higher oil prices,” Johnson said.

The EU has purchased about 35 billion euros’ worth, or $38 billion, of energy from Russia since the invasion.

“Of course, what you can do with dollars and euros is limited to some extent by now due to the sanctions as well,” Pittel said.

But while cut off from much of the Western financial system, the revenue Russia gets from oil and gas sales to Europe is usable within Russia, said Julia Friedlander of the Atlantic Council.

“They can use it to prop up their economy, to stave off a liquidity crisis within Russian banks, and they can use it for any budgetary needs they might have,” she said.

Moscow is pushing to get paid in rubles to prop up the value of its currency and looking for any leverage it can get to make that happen.

Moritz Kuhn, an economics professor at the University of Bonn, said if Europe does pursue sanctions on oil and gas, it had better to do it now rather than wait until the runup to next winter.

“It’s a much worse bargaining position, because then we are really depending on the gas if we didn’t take any actions now,” Kuhn said. That would put Europe at the mercy of Putin once cold weather comes around again.

Europe sanctions Russian coal but not oil and gas - Marketplace

Experts say the EU should look into further energy sanctions while cold weather is not a pressing concern.

www.marketplace.org

 

[gambit]

From the very start Britain said to the EU don't open yourself up to energy blackmail by Putin. Angela Merkel ignored us and made Germany dependent on Russia, now guess what's happened

The EU's energy policy was dictated by a whiny annoying teenage girl. Nevertheless, this is separate from what is happening in Ukraine. Unless Poutine tie Russia's oil export to EU members' defense policy, which is a potential, there is nothing Poutine can do about EU members increasing their defense spending and eventual reduction of Russian oil import.

 

[kingQamaR]

The EU's energy policy was dictated by a whiny annoying teenage girl. Nevertheless, this is separate from what is happening in Ukraine. Unless Poutine tie Russia's oil export to EU members' defense policy, which is a potential, there is nothing Poutine can do about EU members increasing their defense spending and eventual reduction of Russian oil import.

Which side was Merkel on again, when she was in power, because I am giving doubts about her allegiances?

 

[Beast]

The EU's energy policy was dictated by a whiny annoying teenage girl. Nevertheless, this is separate from what is happening in Ukraine. Unless Poutine tie Russia's oil export to EU members' defense policy, which is a potential, there is nothing Poutine can do about EU members increasing their defense spending and eventual reduction of Russian oil import.

Somebody expect German to be the lackeys of American serving US interest.

 

[beijingwalker]

EU members increasing their defense spending and eventual reduction of Russian oil import.

We are happy to fill the gap if it happens.

 

[UKBengali]

We are happy to fill the gap if it happens.

Can someone tell the West that all that will happen is that others will fill the gap as pretty much the same amount of oil will be produced and the suppliers will just change for the importing countries?

There is no way you can take out Russia's 5 million barrels of oil exports from the world market and still have sufficient oil to meet the demand from around the world.


Russia is on track for collect 300 billion US dollars in oil and gas exports this year and that is 30% up from 2021.

 

[hualushui]