Russian gas makes its way into the EU as cheap fertilisers

Brussels – The Russian gas under EU sanctions for the aggression against Ukraine makes its way into the EU in the form of fertilisers and pesticides to be used for agriculture. Moscow has found a way around EU restrictions, much to the concern of the Parliament and the Commission. This is a real headache for Brussels because decisive intervention in the sector risks fallout in terms of global food security and inflationary spirals that the EU executive wants to avoid.

Mariusz Kamiński (ECR), a member of the EU Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee, denounces that the Russian Federation “is using sanctioned gas to produce cheap fertilisers, huge quantities of which end up in Europe.” In doing so, he denounces with a parliamentary question, “The same billions of euros that previously fed the Russian budget through pipelines such as the Nord Stream now feed Russia’s war budget through exports of fertiliser made from the same gas.”

The situation is not new and, on the contrary, is known to the EU Commission. “The EU executive,” explains the EU’s High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, “has sought to balance effective sanctions against Russia with the specific economic needs of its member states and partners and to ensure, in the interest of global food security, that EU sanctions do not in any way target trade in agricultural and food products, including grain and fertiliser, between third countries and Russia.” 

The risk of seeing food shortages or an increase in their prices, with all that may follow in terms of reduced consumption and inflation, must be avoided. Indeed, Kallas admits, “the Commission is concerned about the EU’s continued dependence on certain types of Russian fertilisers and is considering ways to reduce it.” However, she explains that “while we reflect on new measures, maintaining food security remains our primary consideration.”