Macron: European Commission to get mandate for joint gas purchases

PARIS/BERLIN/MOSCOW, Mar 28 (PRIME) -- The European Commission will receive a mandate for joint gas purchases for the E.U., French President Emmanuel Macron said at a news conference on March 25 following a E.U. summit.

“We gave the European Commission powers of various instruments of regulation of the energy market, in particular in regards to a (gas) price limit. For the first time, we decided that the European Commission will receive a mandate to do joint procurement,” Macron said.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that the E.U. proceeds from the fact that the gas supply contracts with Russian gas giant Gazprom stipulate payment in euros or U.S. dollars, when asked whether there is a joint stance on Russia’s demand for the union to pay in rubles.

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said the ministry believes that “the western partners will adapt themselves” to the country’s decision to switch payment for its gas into rubles.

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