Slovakia withdraws proposals that may agree with demand for Russian rubles

Slovak Prime Minister Eduardo Hager said his government minister said that energy payments from “unfriendly countries” are the Russian currency.

In a Facebook post, Prime Minister Hager guarantees readers that Slovakia will proceed in accordance with the terms of the European Union when purchasing gas from Russia, and will stipulate that energy payments will be made in euros in an existing contract. Insisted on the conditions.

“In this situation, we insist that unity is the key and respect the terms and conditions and payments in euros.”

The European Commission has instructed companies in a contract with the Russian government to stipulate payments in euros or US dollars not to comply with the request of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Prime Minister’s comment is in response to a statement by Slovak Minister of Economy Richard Slick that it is essential that Slovakia continue to receive fuel imports from Russia at the expense of doing business in the currency of its choice. I’m coming later.

“Gas must not stop,” Slick said in a public television debate on Sunday. “If there are conditions to pay in rubles, we will pay in rubles.”

A brief controversy reflects Slovakia’s unique reliance on Russia’s energy imports, putting a small country in Central Europe in a pinch as the European Union mobilizes its members to sanction the Russian state. I am. Slovakia imports 87% of natural gas and two-thirds of oil from Russia, and the Minister of Economy’s concerns about what would happen if this supply were cut off are not unfounded.

Slovak anxiety is a particularly serious example of the fears and hardships that the European Union faces more widely. Western nations are preparing to face the consequences of cutting Russia’s energy supply if Putin enforces an ultimatum that all gas payments must be made. In the ruble.

Putin’s request, widely seen as an effort to support Russia’s fiat currency after the ruble plunged due to economic sanctions, is from EU officials claiming to be a breach of contract with the Russian government to allow energy payments. Created in the legal tender of the European Union or the United States, which has been criticized.

Since Putin’s announcement, the ruble has bounced back to near pre-invasion levels, with a current value of 84.25 per US $ (February 24, the day Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, the ruble was valued at 84.95 per US $. I did).

As of April 4, gas continues to flow through the European pipeline, even though the European Union refused to respond to Russia’s request for payment in the ruble. Putin’s impact on fuel prices will be somewhat diminished in the short term as the cold season recedes rapidly. However, in the months following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, European consumers have faced very high energy costs, and in countries such as Slovakia that are particularly dependent on Russia’s fuel imports, alternative energy sources. Economic costs are particularly serious unless arrangements are made to promote. Energy in short order.