https://sputnikglobe.com/20250604/cracks-in-eus-energy-suicide-france–belgium-refuse-to-back-russian-gas-ban-1122187352.html
Cracks in EU’s Energy Suicide: France & Belgium Refuse to Back Russian Gas Ban
Cracks in EU’s Energy Suicide: France & Belgium Refuse to Back Russian Gas Ban
Sputnik International
France and Belgium – two top buyers of Russian LNG – are refusing to rubber-stamp the EU’s proposed ban on Russian gas without serious answers about how it won’t wreck their economies even further.
2025-06-04T05:35+0000
2025-06-04T05:35+0000
2025-06-04T05:35+0000
europe
viktor orban
robert fico
france
belgium
russia
european union (eu)
liquefied natural gas (lng)
yamal lng
novatek
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France and Belgium – two top buyers of Russian LNG – are refusing to rubber-stamp the EU’s proposed ban on Russian gas without serious answers about how it won’t wreck their economies even further.The two countries are also worried about the legal consequences of the self-destructive plan to cut off cheap and reliable Russian gas by 2027.France’s TotalEnergies is locked into a deal with Russia’s Novatek until 2032 and has a 20% stake in the Yamal LNG project.Belgium is also set to continue receiving Russian LNG until 2035, and wants the EU Commission to show exactly what the impact would be, Belgian Energy Minister Mathieu Bihet told European media.Hungary and Slovakia have been more emphatic. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban calls the plan a disaster that must be stopped «by all means.”Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico calls it what it is: economic suicide.Sky-high power bills, energy rationing, and deindustrialization are already hammering Europe thanks to Brussels’ sanctions spree.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20250523/ukraine-stands-behind-eu-commissions-plan-to-reject-russian-energy-resources—orban-1122117003.html
france
belgium
russia
2025
News
en_EN
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russian gas, eu sanctions on russian gas, eu energy crisis, eu self-destructive sanctions on russian gas, france and belgium oppose eu sanctions on russian gas, hungary and slovakia reject eu sanctions on russian gas
russian gas, eu sanctions on russian gas, eu energy crisis, eu self-destructive sanctions on russian gas, france and belgium oppose eu sanctions on russian gas, hungary and slovakia reject eu sanctions on russian gas
The European Commission presented the REPowerEU roadmap for ending Russian energy imports in May. It proposed a halt to all remaining Russian gas contracts by the end of 2027, as well as restrictions on imports of enriched uranium from Russia.
The two countries are also worried about the legal consequences of the self-destructive plan to cut off cheap and reliable Russian gas by 2027.
Belgium is also set to continue receiving Russian LNG until 2035, and wants the EU Commission to show exactly what the impact would be, Belgian Energy Minister Mathieu Bihet told European media.
«This is an economic suicide: to come to the point where [there is] no gas, no oil, no nuclear fuel, nothing [from Russia] just because some new iron curtain is being set up between the Western world and perhaps Russia and other countries,» Fico told a news conference last month.
Sky-high power bills, energy rationing, and deindustrialization are already hammering Europe thanks to Brussels’ sanctions spree.
