Brussels - Saba:
The European Commission's plan to abandon Russian energy sources is likely not attracting the attention of European companies, and some are considering returning to full gas imports from Russia.
Politico reported that the European Commission intends to present its plan on Tuesday to completely phase out imports of Russian energy resources by 2027.
According to the newspaper, the plan will give European companies the opportunity to terminate contracts for the supply of Russian energy resources early.
European Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen told the newspaper: "This roadmap will help the European Union regain its independence and break away from its dependence on Russia in the energy sector."
The newspaper believes that this may not please all European business leaders and executives, some of whom may not want to engage in this path, and the European market may not respond to the new incentives from the European Commission. According to the newspaper, "Europe is already discussing the possibility of resuming full imports of energy resources from Russia, once this becomes legally and politically acceptable."
Commenting on the matter, Maria Shagina, an expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said: "The continued attraction to Russian energy resources is due to several considerations. EU member states are concerned about competitiveness and the decline of industry, which makes cheap Russian energy resources even more attractive against the backdrop of a possible peaceful settlement [of the conflict in Ukraine]."
The newspaper quoted Patrick Pouyanné, CEO of the French energy company TotalEnergies, as saying that he would not be surprised if gas from Siberia began flowing to the European Union again at some point, given growing speculation about the possibility of fully resuming Russian gas imports due to the Trump administration's policy of improving relations with Russia.
Christian Signoretto, CEO of the Italian oil and gas company Eni, spoke cautiously about the prospects for resuming trade relations with Russia in the energy sector. According to him, this could be hindered by legal complications and damaged infrastructure.
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