Coal mineMOSCOW, Apr 6The promised ban on the import of Russian coal will become hara-kiri for the European Union, Boyan Rashev, a columnist for the Bulgarian newspaper Glasove, is sure. , it’s not Putin who will suffer the most from this,” he wrote. Rashev explained that Russia, the world’s third largest exporter of coal, accounts for 48% of the consumption of this fuel in the EU — for comparison, Moscow’s share in the European gas market is 41%. At the same time, the remaining major coal suppliers are either tied to other markets or have introduced a temporary export ban.In Germany, warned of the devastating consequences of a shortage of gasThe observer also pointed out that now the demand for solid fuels has risen sharply. So, in 2019, the EU imported 74 million tons of coal from Russia, despite the fact that the European authorities were critical of power plants using this type of fuel. However, in 2022, the continent had to return to this energy source due to record gas prices. The journalist noted that, theoretically, the United States could “fill up” Europe with coal, but in the last 15 years the country has not invested in this industry. Rashev also pointed out that the problem with solid fuel arose on the continent by itself: for example, in terms of coal reserves, Germany is comparable to the largest exporter, Indonesia. The day before, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced the fifth package of anti-Russian sanctions in a video message. Among the proposals was the introduction of a ban on the import of coal from Russia. Western countries increased pressure on Russia after the start of military operations in Ukraine. Large state-owned banks were disconnected from the SWIFT system, many companies announced a freeze on their current activities in the country or about leaving the Russian market. The European Union is also discussing the refusal to import Russian energy products.Read the full text of the article on the InoSMI website >>
The Ambassador of Ukraine to Germany pissed off the Germans with one phrase about the Russians
