German Green MEP Michael Bloss told Guildhall that Russia is using pressure, dependency and energy leverage to undermine the sovereignty of Georgia and Armenia, arguing that the European Union’s strongest response should be to accelerate the phase-out of Russian fossil fuels and close loopholes that continue to finance the Kremlin.
How do you assess Russia’s recent actions toward Georgia and Armenia?
Russia’s moves on Georgia and Armenia follow the same playbook we already know: pressure, dependency, and the slow erosion of a neighbour’s sovereignty. Russia is weak, afraid and nervous — all the signs of a falling and failing state.
What should be the European Union’s response to these developments?
Europe’s most powerful answer is not only diplomatic, it is energy policy. Although the embargo is decided, Russia still earns billions because the phase-out runs until 2027 and the shadow fleet keeps the oil flowing through the back door. We cannot credibly defend Georgia’s or Armenia’s right to choose Europe while a single euro still reaches the Kremlin’s war chest. That means moving the deadlines forward, not back, and shutting down every workaround that keeps Russian fossil money alive.
What measures of pressure could be applied to compel the Russian Federation to abandon its expansionist ambitions?
The pressure that actually works is taking away the money. That means closing the loopholes in the oil and gas embargo, stopping the transport and insurance of Russian oil through European companies, and ending the fossil dependency that makes us vulnerable to blackmail in the first place. Real strength against Putin comes from energy sovereignty built on our own renewables.
Exclusively for Guildhall.
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