Austria appoints commission to try to ditch Russian gas contract

Austria's energy minister has appointed a commission of experts to examine whether Austria can scrap a gas-supply contract between OMV and Gazprom to reduce its dependence on Russia, she said on Tuesday.

Leonore Gewessler of the Greens, which is the junior partner in a conservative-led coalition, said in February she wanted to end the contract that runs until 2040.

Chancellor Karl Nehammer's conservatives have said they agree Austria needs to move away from Russian gas. Ahead of a parliamentary election due on Sept. 29, however, the two sides of the coalition increasingly have been at odds.

In May, the latest month for which data is available, 90% of net gas imports came from Russia.

Gewessler said OMV had agreed to grant members of the commission access to the contract, the terms of which are a closely-guarded secret. Her commission, made up of economists and legal specialists, is headed by retired judge and former lawmaker for the liberal Neos Irmgard Griss and law professor Andreas Kletecka.

"It is a very significant and important question: isn't there a way to get out of this contract?" Griss told a news conference. "Is there anything you can use legally to get out of this contract?"

The commission's initial findings are due to be presented "by autumn" before a final report by the end of this year, Gewessler's ministry said in a statement without specifying whether that could be before the September elections.

The far-right Freedom Party (FPO), which rival parties accuse of being dangerously pro-Russian, has led opinion polls. It says it is merely defending Austria's neutrality.

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