The Italian oil company Eni will open an account in rubles to pay for Russian gas | International

The Italian oil company Eni announced on Tuesday night the forthcoming opening of an account in euros and another in rubles in the Russian bank Gazprombank to pay for the supply of gas that arrives from that country, thus bowing to Moscow’s demands and opening a crack within the European Union, contrary to that mechanism. “The payment obligation can be fulfilled by transferring euros” and that procedure “should not be incompatible with the sanctions” imposed by the European Union (EU) against Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine, the company said in a statement.

The decision of the Italian group has consequences at a European level and would grant a small victory to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, in his strategy of division. The energy company, 30.3% controlled by the Italian State, goes against the recommendations of the European Commission, which considers that the opening of an account in rubles violates the sanctions and could lead to an infringement procedure for part of Brussels. “Anything that goes beyond the guidelines” given by the Community Executive to the Member States “would be a violation of the sanctions,” said Eric Mamer, spokesman for the European Commission, hours before Eni’s announcement. “The Member States have taken a collective decision to impose a certain number of sanctions, so it is very normal that the Member States have the obligation to enforce this decision that has the force of law in the European Union. And if the Member States do not do so, the general framework of infringement procedures that can be applied by the European Commission applies”, Mamer threatened.

Italy depends heavily on Russian gas – 43% of that energy source comes from that country – and, currently, it could not afford a supply cut, as Putin already threatened that it could happen (Poland and Bulgaria have already suffered) . Prime Minister Mario Draghi has worked hard to secure new suppliers. But the situation is still very complicated. The Government, consulted by this newspaper, does not want to comment on the decision and they leave the communication of this matter in the hands of Eni. But some sources recall that Draghi, who had referred to this problem as “the gray area of ​​​​sanctions”, has requested on several occasions that this matter be clarified to the European Commission without receiving a clear response.

The Italian company also alleges that the Russian authorities have confirmed that “invoicing and payment will continue to be made in euros”, which is the currency that appears in the contracts. Later, they told him, “an operator of the Moscow Stock Exchange will convert the amount into rubles within 48 hours without the intervention of the Central Bank of Russia.” An element that Eni uses as mitigating the European guidelines when a Kremlin decree introduced the new payment procedure in two stages: with a payment in a Gazprombank account in euros or dollars and then the conversion into rubles in a second account in the same institution.

Initially, this conversion mechanism involved a transaction with the Russian Central Bank, which is prohibited by the EU sanctions regime. Although Brussels has said several times that this ruble conversion mechanism is a way to circumvent EU sanctions, several member states that want to keep supplies have asked the European Commission for clarification. Italy was one of them and, according to sources close to the Executive, there was no clear answer. Draghi, as an alternative, had proposed setting a ceiling on the price of methane.

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