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Paris has called for companies shipping Russian gas to be better identified at EU ports in an effort to stop an increase of Russian fossil fuels coming into the bloc.

France, along with nine other countries including Austria and the Czech Republic, circulated a paper ahead of an EU energy ministers’ meeting on Tuesday calling for the European Commission to require suppliers of Russian liquefied natural gas to identify themselves clearly when cargoes are unloaded at EU ports and to improve transparency on the volume of imports.

Some gas suppliers that booked capacity to import Russian LNG at EU ports “are currently not properly identified”, the paper said.

French energy minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher said on Tuesday that the “highest level of transparency regarding flows of [LNG]” was needed to “remove this dependency”.

Gas imports from Russia increased 11 per cent year on year in the first half of 2024, according to data from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, despite EU efforts to wean itself off Russian fossil fuels.

France and its partners said that some gas importers had booked capacity to import Russian LNG at EU ports “but these natural gas suppliers are currently not properly identified”.

France, Spain and Belgium accounted for 87 per cent of Europe’s Russian LNG imports during that period, with imports to France more than doubling, while those to Belgium decreased 16 per cent, the IEEFA said.

Belgium, which has long called for EU sanctions on Russian LNG, said In a separate paper to be presented on Tuesday that it was already working on a mechanism to trace the origin of LNG, “making it possible to track and restrict Russian LNG molecules if necessary”.

Once imported into the EU, the final destination of gas is hard to trace as it is often mixed with gas from other sources and subject to commercially sensitive contracts.

Belgium said that an EU country receiving Russian gas shipped into Belgian ports “must confirm the necessity of the shipment for its energy supply” and called on the commission to co-ordinate the effort.

Efforts to reduce flows of Russian fuels into the bloc have been hindered by Hungary, which has consistently resisted sanctions and sought to extend existing deals it has with the Russian gas major Gazprom.

Last Thursday, Budapest signed a deal with Gazprom to continue flows of Russian gas through the Turkish pipeline route.

Gas from Russia also reaches the EU through Ukraine — despite the war — thanks to a contract that is due to expire at the end of this year.

Discussions over the extension of that contract were “a very sensitive issue”, a senior European official said. “We need to recognise the fact that Ukraine is getting revenue from transit.”

Sven Giegold, Germany’s state secretary for economic affairs and climate action, said that it was “worrying” to see the uptick in Russian fuel imports and that the commission should present “a road map . . . to bring imports from Russia in all fuels down to zero”.

The concern comes after the EU took a first step towards restricting Russian LNG by sanctioning transshipments — re-exports of Russian fuel to third countries — from EU ports in June.

EU countries including the Netherlands have raised concerns that the ban has had the unwanted side effect of increasing shipments into the EU as they can no longer be re-exported elsewhere, even though the ban only officially comes into force in March next year.

TotalEnergies, the French energy group and an importer of Russian LNG, said it “continues to supply Europe with [imports from Russia’s] Yamal LNG plant, under the long-term contracts that TotalEnergies is legally bound to honour . . . These “take or pay” contracts cannot be suspended unless specific government sanctions are imposed”.

MORE than half of voters believe an increase in employers paying more National Insurance would be a “tax on working people”, an exclusive poll reveals.

Fifty-seven per cent of people say  the government would by default be breaking a manifesto commitment by launching the cash raid.

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Small business leaders last night warned the government against the move saying it WILL  hurt working people.

It comes after the Prime Minister said in the run-up to the election that he wouldn’t raise national insurance, income tax or VAT.

But Sir Keir gave the clearest sign yet today that he will impose a new “Jobs Tax” on bosses at the Budget.

Speaking in Downing Street, he told the BBC:  “We were very clear in the manifesto that we wouldn’t be increasing tax on working people and we expressly said that that was income tax, that was NICs etc.”

“It wasn’t just the manifesto, we said it repeatedly in the campaign and we intend to keep the promises that we made in our manifesto.

“So I’m not going to reveal to you the details of the Budget, you know that that’s not possible at this stage.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves all but confirmed she will raise national insurance payments for bosses in the Budget  while at an investment summit on Monday.

Craig Beaumont, of the Federation of Small Businesses, said:   “Hiking the jobs tax without looking after small employers would do the polar opposite – hitting working people’s jobs, pay & pensions, and increasing economic inactivity.”

Concerns was raised by 61 per cent of people who said if taxes go up on business then costs are passed on to “ordinary people” like them, the Portland Communications poll found.

Shadow Business Secretary Kevin Hollinrake said: “Opening the door to a Jobs Tax is sowing further uncertainty and chaos for businesses.

“It’s obvious to all that hiking employer National Insurance is a clear breach of Labour’s manifesto but, crucially, also a tax on jobs that will further hit confidence and damage economic growth.

“Not content with strangling businesses with red tape, Labour’s jobs tax would make it more expensive to hire people, driving up prices and slowing wages.

“Rachel Reeves was right when she first said this policy was anti-business. If they were as pro-business as they claimed, they would not pursue this damaging policy.”

Alex Salmond died opening bottle of ketchup

Alex Salmond passed away while trying to open a bottle of ketchup, according to an eyewitness account. The former first minister of Scotland tragically collapsed and died at the age of 69 on Saturday, shortly after giving a speech at a conference in North Macedonia.

Mark Donfried, the director of the Academy for Cultural Diplomacy, shared that attendees were enjoying lunch in the picturesque lakeside city of Ohrid when Mr. Salmond’s incident occurred.

“He was having lunch with Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh, also from the Alba Party in Scotland,” he told Times Radio. “Later, Tasmina mentioned she was struggling to open the ketchup and asked him for help. As he was assisting her, he suddenly fell back in his chair, completely unexpectedly. “Next to him was the former chief executive of the stock exchange of Cyprus, who immediately caught him. He later told me he believed Alex was unconscious right away. Thankfully, it seems Alex didn’t experience any pain. He checked for a pulse and found none. “It felt like time stood still,” he added. “The whole hotel and conference were left in shock.”

A post-mortem conducted on Sunday night determined that the Alba leader passed away due to a “massive heart attack,” as noted by Mr. Donfried. Aides reported that Mr. Salmond had been experiencing pain in his right leg on Saturday morning. The interior ministry of North Macedonia confirmed that Mr. Salmond died at 3:30 PM local time (2:30 PM BST) on Saturday.

On Monday, his family released a statement saying: “Alex was an exceptional politician, a remarkable speaker, and a brilliant mind, respected globally. “He cherished connecting with people and listening to their stories, demonstrating immense kindness to those in need.

He devoted his life to the cause he was passionate about – Scotland’s independence. His vision and passion for Scotland and the Yes movement were truly inspiring and infectious. “Above all, he was a loving husband, a fiercely loyal brother, a proud and caring uncle, and a dependable friend.”

He graduated from the University of St Andrews and began his career as an economist at the Scottish Office, eventually moving on to the Royal Bank of Scotland. In 1987, he was elected to the British House of Commons, where he represented Banff and Buchan as a Member of Parliament (MP) until 2010. Later, he parted ways with the party due to disagreements over how the Scottish Government managed sexual misconduct allegations against him and subsequently established Alba, a new pro-independence movement.

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