Buying Russian Energy Should be EU Decision: Montel

Buying Russian energy should be an EU decision, according to a memo directed at the next EU energy commissioner from Brussels-based think tank Bruegal, cited by Montel.

• The longer-term goal should be to end such imports and avoid becoming dependent on Russia again, memo authors Simone Tagliapietra and Georg Zachmann said.
• The memo added that given the upcoming expiry of the Russia-Ukraine gas transit deal and the expected new Qatari and US LNG capacity from 2025, now is a good time for renegotiating remaining gas contracts with Russia.
• “A European buyers’ cartel would strengthen political leverage in any negotiations with Russia,” they said. The EU already has a mechanism for aggregating demand to buy non-Russian gas.
• The think-tank urged the EU commission to negotiate a “grand bargain” that would share the cost of ending Russian energy imports fairly across the bloc.