EU countries paying for Russian gas in roubles may face legal action, warns Dombrovskis

Brussels is willing to launch legal action against EU countries that allow their energy companies to pay for Russian gas in roubles, violating EU sanctions.

"It's a relatively complex setting," European Commission's Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis told Euronews on Thursday afternoon. 

"So on the one hand, it's member states which are monitoring the implementation of sanctions by concrete companies in their territory. But on the other hand, as European Commission, we are monitoring whether member states are actually enforcing sanctions," 

"If we see that this is not the case, there is also a possibility for the European Commission to start infringement procedures in this regard," he warned.

The vice-president's comments come a day after Russia's state-controlled energy multinational Gazprom decided to cut off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria.

The two countries had refused to abide by a decree issued by President Vladimir Putin that forces "unfriendly" foreign buyers, including the 27 member states of the European Union, to set up a second bank account to convert the euros into roubles and then pay for Russian fossil fuels.

The decree is meant to prop up the national currency, which experienced a dramatic freefall in early March and gradually recovered to pre-war levels.

The Commission says around 97% of EU gas contracts signed with Russia explicitly estipulate payments must be carried out in either euros or dollars.

"Companies with such contracts should not accede to the Russian demands," said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in reaction to Gazprom's decision. "This would be a breach of the EU sanctions and therefore a high risk for the companies."

The executive says that, by setting a second bank account,