MILAN (Reuters) – Italian energy group Eni will open accounts this week to pay for Russian gas after clarification such a move will not breach sanctions, two sources said on Monday.
In updated guidance on Friday the European Commission confirmed its previous advice that EU sanctions do not prevent companies from opening an account at a designated bank.
It said companies can pay for Russian gas – so long as they do so in the currency agreed in their existing contracts and declare the transaction completed when that currency is paid.
“The clarified guidelines have given a green light for Eni,” one of the sources said.
(Reporting by Stephen Jewkes, editing by Angelo Amante)