Qatar warns EU over gas supplies amid new forced labour law

Qatar’s Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi stated that the country would halt gas shipments to the EU if member states strictly enforce the new Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive.

In an interview with the Financial Times (FT), Kaabi said, “If the case is that I lose 5 per cent of my generated revenue by going to Europe, I will not go to Europe. I’m not bluffing.”

The directive, approved this year, mandates that large companies in the EU address forced labour and environmental harm in their supply chains, with penalties of up to 5 per cent of global turnover. Kaabi added, “5 per cent of generated revenue of QatarEnergy means 5 per cent of generated revenue of the Qatar state. This is the people’s money, so I cannot lose that kind of money – and nobody would accept losing that kind of money.”

Kaabi urged the EU to review the law while emphasising Qatar’s focus on expanding liquefied natural gas (LNG) capacity from 77 million tons to 142 million tons annually by 2027 to strengthen its position in Asia and Europe.

Attribution: Reuters

Subediting: M. S. Salama