There are no sanctions at the EU level on the import of LPG from Russia. As long as there are no such sanctions at the EU level, it is indeed possible to import this commodity, Polish government spokesman Piotr Müller said on Friday, 5 May, as quoted by the Polish Press Agency.
During the press briefing, the government spokesperson was asked about LPG, which “according to statements made by members of the Civic Coalition (the main opposition party – ed.) is imported from Russia all the time”.
Müller explained that there are no sanctions at the EU level in this respect. Therefore, as long as there are no such sanctions, it is possible to import those goods.
“Several times, our government has taken action to force the EU to at least ban coal imports. Now we expect that if such action is taken in solidarity with the EU, and not so that at this time Germany or other countries can import to benefit from cheaper energy, and other countries agree, we can talk about such a move,” – said the government spokesman when asked if Poland could not introduce such sanctions (on LGP imports) on its own.
Russian LPG enters Poland overwhelmingly through land terminals in the eastern part of the country. LPG imports from Russia by sea have been sharply reduced in recent months.
According to an analysis by PortalMorski.pl, out of 140 LPG tanker calls at Polish seaports between 1 January and 5 May this year, only seven were from the Russian port of Ust-Luga, as the last place of loading before those tankers entered the Polish ports.
However, it is uncertain whether, for example, the LPG imported from the Netherlands (17 deliveries since the beginning of the year from Flushing), at least in part, did not originate from Russia. The largest number of deliveries in the reported period – 71 – came from Karlshamn and Brofjorden in Sweden.
In the second half of April 2023, MPs of opposition clubs in the Polish parliament tabled a draft introducing sanctions on Russian LPG. At the time, they appealed to MPs of the other political parties in Poland, particularly the ruling United Right, to support it.
According to the annual report of the Polish Liquid Gas Association, published last week, domestic LPG consumption in 2022 increased by 2.5 percent year-on-year to almost 2.5 million tonnes. Over 80 percent was accounted for by imports, in which the share of the largest supplier, Russia, fell by more than 10 percent to 47 percent.
source: PortalMorski.pl
