MOSCOW, March 31 The authorities of the European Union and Spain were powerless due to the increase in purchases of Russian liquefied natural gas, against which no restrictions were imposed, reports Spanish newspaper El Confidential.
According to the publication, Spain is the European leader in LNG imports from Russia. Raw materials are purchased by private companies, these transactions are completely legal.
«Russian gas flows to Spain in abundance. Neither the government nor Brussels knows how to stop it. <…> The country has increased its purchases of this fuel by 84% since the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine. This year's months show an increase of 172% compared to the same period last year, an uncomfortable reality that provoked a reaction in both Madrid and Brussels,» said Lucas Proto, the author of the article.
The journalist added that the European authorities tried to put pressure on Spanish fuel importers, despite the fact that Russian LNG is not limited by Western sanctions.
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«The reality is that both in Spain and in the rest of The EU has no mechanism to stop the flow of hydrocarbons to the continent,” the author explained.
According to him, the growing attractiveness of Russian LNG has affected the entire European Union. Imports of this fuel rose sharply to 19.25 billion cubic meters in 2022 compared to 14 billion cubic meters purchased in 2021.