EU Eyes Trade Tools to Ban Russian Gas
Welcome to the Brussels Edition, Bloomberg's daily briefing on what matters most in the heart of the European Union.
Ever since the European Commission put forward its plan to ban Russian gas imports by the end of 2027, officials and companies from the EU's 27 member states have been scratching their heads over what tool they would use to make that a reality. Straight sanctions were taken off the table due to their unanimity requirement, with both Hungary and Slovakia staunchly opposed. Instead, we've learned that the bloc is likely to prohibit supplies via a quota set to zero, effectively a trade measure that only requires a qualified majority. It would allow European buyers to invoke so-called force majeure to terminate agreements with Russian suppliers, we're told. As soon as it's put forward mid-next month, lawyers will be delving into the fine print to work out if it would allow European companies to walk away from their contracts with Moscow without paying penalties.
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