This dilemma begs the question- has a world currency arrived? How are they going to solved this mess?
If Russia follows through on its threat to cut off gas supplies to buyers that don’t comply, it poses a serious threat for the EU, which gets 40% of its gas from Russia. The bloc is scrambling to find alternative energy sources as it comes to terms with the outsize leverage Moscow has over its security, but the transition will take time. The EU is working on its sixth sanctions package, but moves to target Russian energy have been fraught given its dependence.
This is what dependence on Globalism has built for the world- War, poverty and hardship.
The European Union and Russia are at risk of triggering a de facto embargo on Russian gas after the bloc’s lawyers drafted a preliminary finding that the mechanism President Vladimir Putin is demanding for payment in rubles would violate EU sanctions.
In a HUGE loss for Putin, the S&P announced earlier in April that Russia defaulted on its foreign debt because it offered to pay in rubles, and investors won’t be able to convert the rubles into “dollars equivalent to the original due amounts.”
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, has presented its analysis of Putin’s decree, according to people familiar with the matter. The assessment raises the stakes for Europe’s energy security since Putin threatened to halt gas supplies to buyers that don’t comply with the edict.
Putin’s March 31 demand stipulates that European gas buyers open two accounts, one in a foreign currency and one in rubles, with Gazprombank responsible for converting the foreign currency into rubles and transferring the ruble payment to Gazprom.
According to the commission’s preliminary legal analysis, Putin’s decree substantially alters the procedure and creates a new legal situation, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the assessment is private.
European governments — and companies — are still grappling with what the decree means in operational terms. The Dutch government said on Thursday it backed the EU analysis and won’t allow its companies to follow the Russian payment demand. Most other governments have yet to react publicly.
The EU is set to work with national authorities to inform European companies that hold contracts of the assessment and provide guidance, according to the people.
Putin said on Thursday that the EU didn’t have an immediate alternative to Russian gas.
“A reasonable replacement for Europe simply does not exist,” he said in a televised speech. “There are simply no spare volumes in the global market, and deliveries from other countries, primarily the U.S., which may be sent to Europe, will cost the consumers many times more.”
Kari is an ex-Community Organizer who writes about Cultural Marxism, grassroots activism, music, IndyCar racing and political campaigns. @Saorsa1776
