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ONDON – Qatar will stop supplying gas to the European Union if member states strictly enforce new legislation tackling forced labor and environmental harm, Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi told the Financial Times.

The directive, approved this year, requires larger companies operating in the European Union to verify whether their supply chains use forced labor or cause environmental damage and to take action if they do.

Penalties would amount to up to 5 percent of global turnover.

“If I would lose 5 percent of revenue by going to Europe, I won’t go to Europe. I’m not bluffing,” Kaabi told the newspaper, adding that “5 percent of QatarEnergy’s revenue means 5 percent of the state’s revenue of Qatar.”

“This is people’s money, so I can’t lose that much money – and no one would accept to lose that much money.”

Qatar, one of the world’s leading LNG exporters, seeks to play a larger role in Asia and Europe as competition increases from the largest supplier in the United States.

It plans to expand its liquefaction capacity from 77 million to 142 million tons annually by 2027 (December 22, 2024).

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