Slovenia hopeful of EU deal to phase out Russian fossil fuel imports 'during next month'

A European Union deal to phase out Russian oil, gas and coal imports to the bloc remains 'on the table,' but a final agreement could take another month due to ongoing disagreement on the detail among member states, Slovenia's Prime Minister Janez Jansa said March 24.

Slovenia, one of Europe's most dependent member states in terms of imports of Russian oil and gas, will reiterate its support for an EU move to phase out imports of Russian fossil fuels at a European Council heads of state meeting in Brussels March 24, Jansa told reporters ahead of the meeting.

"Russian gas, oil and coal are on the table [but] this will not happen unfortunately overnight," Jansa said at the meeting which is being attended by US President Joe Biden "There is support to do this as soon as possible, this means during next month because otherwise we are just [funding] the Russian war machine."

"Today I think we will officially confirm our commitment from Versailles when we said that the European Union should abandon our dependence on Russian energy as soon as possible," he said.

At a meeting in Versailles on March 11, EU member states agreed to phase out the use of Russian fossil fuels "as soon as possible" but didn't set a deadline. The European Commission has said it is drawing up plans for the EU to stop importing Russian fossil fuels by 2027.

Asked if he believes any European buyers of Russian oil and gas will pay in rubles as requested by Moscow, Jansa said: "I don't think anybody in Europe knows what rubles looks like. Nobody will pay in rubles."

Jansa's comments were echoed by Latvian Prime Minister Arturs Krisjanis Karins who — when asked how energy sanctions could be deployed against Russian fossil fuel exports — said: "It's rather simple. You simply decide not to buy."

When asked whether temporary sanctions on imports of Russian energy could be adopted, Karins said: "I think this is a serious option. I think we should look at that. I think the most logical place to move forward is in oil and coal."

"But that decision is a rather difficult one. We're all fully aware that in various countries, we have various dependencies on Russian oil and gas. Latvia has a high dependency on Russian oil and gas," he said.

German opposition

Pressure on the EU to announce some measures to cut its imports of Russian oil and gas have been growing, with member states such as Ireland and Lithuania calling for a ban on Russian oil to ramp up pressure on Moscow.

But the latest comments come a day after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reiterated his opposition to any immediate curbs on EU imports of Russian fossil fuels, warning that any such moves would plunge the region into an economic recession.

Speaking to the Bundestag parliament, Scholz said Germany will continue to look to reduce its dependency on Russian oil and gas, but warned "hasty" action could trigger a recession.

Germany, Europe's biggest economy, is heavily dependent on Russian energy, with about half of its gas and coal imports and more than one third of its oil imports coming from the country.

The EU imported 155 Bcm of Russian gas in 2021, accounting for around 45% of EU gas imports and close to 40% of its total gas consumption.

Europe was importing about 2.7 million b/d of Russian crude, around a quarter of total imports, and another 1.5 million b/d products, mostly diesel, before the invasion of Ukraine.