Qatar threatens to cut off gas supply to European Union

DOHA, July 26 (YPA) -Qatar has threatened to cut off gas supplies to the European Union in response to the bloc’s due diligence law on forced labor and environmental damage, Reuters reported, citing a letter from Qatar to the Belgian government.

In a letter to the Belgian government dated May 21, Qatar’s Minister of Energy, Saad al-Kaabi, stated that the country was reacting to the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), which requires the largest companies operating in the EU to identify and address human rights and environmental issues in their supply chains.

“Simply put, unless further changes are made to the CSDDD, the State of Qatar and QatarEnergy will have no choice but to seriously consider alternative markets outside the EU for our LNG and other products that offer a more sustainable and favorable business environment,” the letter states.

A spokesman for Belgium’s representation to the EU declined to comment on the letter, which was first reported by the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag.

The European Commission also received a letter from Qatar dated May 13, a Commission spokesman told Reuters, noting that EU lawmakers and EU countries are now negotiating changes to the CSDDDD.

“It is now up to them to agree and adopt the substantive changes regarding the simplification proposed by the Commission,” the spokesperson said.

Qatar is the world’s third-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) after the United States and Australia. It has supplied 12% to 14% of Europe’s LNG since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

@E.Y.M