Today, the government adopted a regulation imposing a ban on the import and purchase of natural gas from Russia as a sanction.
The ban also applies to the related transmission service, the import of liquefied natural gas and the purchase for the purpose of insertion into the transmission or distribution network. Otherwise, the purchase and import of liquefied gas is not limited.
Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu Urmas Reinsalu is an Estonian politician. said that the sanction will be imposed as a foreign policy measure, similar to other Baltic states. "The purpose of the sanction is to pressure Russia to end its military aggression against Ukraine, as natural gas is an important source of income for Russia and is used as a lever to influence the European Union," Reinsalu said and added that already on April 7, the Estonian government made a fundamental decision that Estonia would renounce the use of Russian gas.
For domestic consumers, the measure will not bring a change in supply, as since April of this year, almost no natural gas has been delivered to Estonia from Russia.
The sanction primarily affects Estonian gas companies whose operating license gives the right to import natural gas or provide transmission services. According to the Ministry of Economy and Communications, there are nine companies with valid gas import licenses, one company has a transmission service license.
The sanction will enter into force on December 31.