European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday that Gazprom's announcement is another attempt by Russia to blackmail us with gas.

Further comments

“We are prepared for this scenario.”

“We are mapping out our coordinated EU response.”

“Europeans can trust that we stand united and in solidarity with the Member States impacted.”

Meanwhile, the Russian Parliament Speaker said that gas buyers will face cuts if they don’t pay in roubles.

On suspension of Russian gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland, the speaker said, “Moscow should do the same with regards to other unfriendly countries.”

Earlier on, Gazprom halted gas flows to Poland and Bulgaria and decided to keep the supplies turned off until the two countries agree to Moscow’s demand to pay for the fuel in roubles.

Bloomberg is now reporting that four European gas buyers seem to have already paid for supplies in roubles, yielding to the Russian blackmail.

Market reaction

EUR/USD is hovering around 1.0600, vulnerable amid the Russia-EU energy conflict and a broadly firmer US dollar. The main currency pair is down 0.37% on the day.