Energy sanctions against Moscow remain very much "on the table" if Russia invades Ukraine, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said.
The comments come amid rising tensions over the Russia-Ukraine crisis after US president Joe Biden said on 18 February that he was convinced that Russian president Vladimir Putin has made a decision to invade Ukraine.
"We are clear that all options are on the table," von der Leyen told CNBC yesterday. "First of all there's the big financial packet of sanctions that would cut off Russia from the financial markets. A heavy blow for the economy and the export controls... And on the other hand, it's important to know that... two thirds of [Russia's] export gas goes to Europe, and this is half of the Russian budget."
Von der Leyen's estimate of the share of gas in Russia's budget revenues is too high — the country's finance ministry expects oil and gas combined to account for 38pc this year.
Russia's state-controlled Gazprom supplies 40pc of European gas needs, von der Leyen said, creating a dependency that was "not sustainable". She said she has reached out to alternative suppliers — first and foremost the US — to replace any potential drop in gas supplies from Russia.
"We have now [had] in January the highest amount of LNG deliveries, and we know by now that if there is a decoupling of Russian gas as a retaliation we are able to make it through this winter with supply from others", she said.
Von der Leyen's comments came just one day after Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said he believed that any future EU sanctions on Russia over Ukraine should not target the energy sector. Italy is a major gas importer, with Russia one of its top suppliers.
"We are discussing sanctions with the EU, and in the course of discussions we have made our position known that they should be restricted on narrow sectors without including energy... and be proportionate to the type of attack," Draghi said at a press conference on 18 February.
Von der Leyen also said in response to those comments by Draghi that she has reassured him that "LNG gas from other sources and a pipeline network throughout Europe would make it possible to bring the necessary gas to Italy."
