Finland fears a Russian gas cut because of its refusal to pay the Russian group Gazprom in rubles, the Nordic country's gas operator announced on Tuesday May 17.
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Gasum, the company in charge of gas imports in Finland, "
does not accept Gazprom Export's demand to switch to payment in rubles and will therefore not make payment in rubles
", the group announced in a press release. .
The announcement, which coincides with that of the Finnish candidacy for NATO, comes a few days after the suspension of Russian electricity exports to Finland, due to problems of unpaid bills.
While gas represents only 8% of the energy consumed in Finland, a majority of the gas used in the Nordic country comes from Russia.
An “increased risk”
Gasum, who indicates that he has brought the dispute before an arbitration court, considers that there is an "
increased risk
" of interruption of the supply provided for in the contract "
and consequently that the import of natural gas from Russia to Finland stops
".
Finland has already announced plans to do without Russian gas next winter, with a specialized import vessel it would share with neighboring Estonia.
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Several countries that refused to pay in rubles for not supporting the Russian economy during the war in Ukraine, such as Poland and Bulgaria, had their gas cut off by Gazprom.
In the rest of the European Union (EU), payments are scheduled for mid-May and further suspensions are expected.
The Italian giant Eni announced on Tuesday its decision to open an account in euros and another in rubles with Gazprombank in order to honor its payments for the supply of Russian gas.