Gas distributors in Germany, Austria, Hungary and Slovakia – including two of Russia’s largest gas importers, Düsseldorf-based Uniper and Vienna-based OMV – are preparing to open ruble accounts in Elp , according to people familiar with the preparations. Negotiations between utilities and Gazprom, Russia’s state-owned gas supplier, have intensified as payment deadlines approach, they said. Italian Eni, another of Gazprom’s big customers, is evaluating its options, said two people familiar with the discussions. The Rome-backed company has until the end of May, when its next payment for Russian supplies is expected, to make one last call, Italian officials said. Preparations show the impact of Russian efforts to equip gas supplies and challenge the EU’s ability to maintain a united front against Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree in late March requiring gas buyers from so-called unfriendly nations – which include the entire EU – to set up foreign currency and ruble bank accounts in Gazprombank, the financial sector. of Gazprom based in Switzerland. , to pay for their commissions. The measure was seen as a way to ease EU sanctions against Russia’s central bank over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Gas importers in Poland and Bulgaria, who refused to join the Kremlin plan, cut off gas supplies from Russia on Wednesday, a decision that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described as blackmail. Brussels has struggled to meet Moscow’s demands: the commission has issued formal technical guidance acknowledging that the financial technique devised by the Kremlin could be “compatible with sanctions” under certain conditions. However, it will result in Russia gaining access to billions of dollars in gas revenues to support its currency and economy, EU member states and officials have said. Under the new Russian mechanism, European utilities will continue to pay Gazprombank for their euro imports – ensuring they do not violate the sanctions regime. The Russian bank, which is not subject to EU sanctions, will then, at its request, convert euro-denominated deposits into a second account opened in its name, for further payment to Russia. The Commission’s advisers concluded that any EU move to impose sanctions on Gazprombank – which would be the fastest way to close the window – could jeopardize the entire existing payment mechanism for Russian gas, resulting in catastrophic interruption of missions to the block. Valdis Dobrovskis, the executive vice-president of the commission, said in an interview that it was primarily up to the individual companies that had signed the contracts with Gazprom to implement and interpret them. But he urged them to abide by the letter of these contracts. “Prices are agreed in euros or dollars. “So you pay that amount of euros for a given amount of gas, at the end of the story,” he said.

Russia’s move against Bulgaria and Poland, however, was a challenge, he said, adding: “It is important to maintain the unity of the EU in this regard and, as President von der Leyen said, we must not give in to this kind of blackmail.” OMV said it had analyzed Gazprom’s request for payment methods in the light of EU sanctions and was working on a solution compatible with the sanctions. Tiina Tuomela, Chief Financial Officer of Uniper, said: “We believe that the modification of the payment process complies with the sanction law and thus payments are possible.” Italian officials said the commission’s guidelines on whether Gazprom’s payment system represented a breach of sanctions were ambiguous and did not provide clarity to Member States. German Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on Wednesday that the Russian payment mechanism was “the path the EU has set for us”. “It’s the path that is compatible with sanctions and as far as I understand German companies doing it that way are in compliance with their contracts,” he said. “Most EU countries follow this approach.” He added that after a visit to Poland on Tuesday, he understood that Warsaw intended to follow a more intransigent line with Moscow. “They are not afraid of an embargo,” he said. Additional references by Amy Kazmin in Rome, Neil Hume in London, Joe Miller in Frankfurt and Sam Fleming in Brussels