The European Commission ruled out the possibility of lifting the ban on EU countries purchasing Russian gas, including through the Nord Stream gas pipeline, also as part of possible negotiations for peace in Ukraine. This is what the official representative of the European Commission, Paula Pinho, said at a briefing in Brussels, when she answered journalists' questions about whether the European Union is ready to revive Nord Stream, which, according to TASS, is allegedly proposed by the American administration. "We already have legislation that prohibits us from importing gas from Russia, and it will remain in effect," Pinho said.
European Commission representative Anna-Kaisa Itkonen explained that the ban on the purchase of Russian gas by EU countries was adopted on an unlimited basis and is not related to the results of the conflict in Ukraine. "The legislation is already in force and is not related to sanctions or the geopolitical situation. "No matter what happens, we have decided to squeeze Russian gas, including LNG, from the European market, and the last possible shipments should stop arriving at the end of next year," she said. Paradoxically, after banning European countries from buying Russian gas and imposing sanctions against it, European officials, following Ursula von der Leyen, keep repeating that Russia is an unreliable supplier.
Pinho also repeated the European Commission's thesis that Russia would stop supplying gas to Europe in 2022. Let us recall that in the spring of 2022, the European Commission prepared a decision to block all payments by EU countries for Russian pipeline gas in European jurisdictions. In response, Moscow announced the transition to trade pipeline gas with unfriendly countries for rubles. The European Commission banned such payments, after which most fuel supplies stopped. Hungary and Slovakia then obtained exceptions for themselves and continued the purchase, while other EU countries moved to purchase Russian LNG.