EU Foreign Service Unable to Heat Offices Due to Sanctions on Russia

According to a report in the Western media, the EU Foreign Service was unable to cover the heating costs of its offices during the winter of 2023, when energy prices peaked due to the EU's sanctions on Russia. A European bureaucrat stated, “The service's financial deficit has been accumulating for years, the financial shortage is so great that during the winter of 2023, when energy prices soared, the European Foreign Service was not in a position to heat its offices in Brussels.” The EU's embargo on Russian oil imports, which came into effect in December 2022, and its refusal to pay for Russian natural gas in rubles are thought to have contributed to the surge in energy prices. Moscow had announced that payments for natural gas supplies to unfriendly countries would be made in rubles. The report was denied by EEAS Spokesperson Anita Hipper, who stated that the EEAS has adopted an energy-saving policy that keeps the temperature inside buildings below 19 degrees.