EU increases pressure on Russia: New sanction package for oil and gas!

EU increases pressure on Russia: New sanction package for oil and gas!

Sassnitz, Deutschland - The European Union decided on Friday a new sanction package against Russia, which has been the 18th since the beginning of the Ukraine War. The Russian oil and energy industry is to be further damaged with these measures. This is clearly emerging, because a movable price lid for Russian crude oil is introduced, which is now to be 15 percent below the average market price. This step is followed by the experience with the previous price lid of USD 6 per barrel, which was considered largely ineffective because it had too many loopholes. So the Financial Express despite the sanctions, despite the sanctions, most of the owlports at a higher price level.

EU head of foreign policy Kaja Kallas said that this sanction package was one of the strongest against Russia, while Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj considered the measures to be "contemporary and necessary", especially in view of the intensive Russian attacks. The new sanctions also include transactions in connection with the north stream gas pipelines and numerous banks that help to avoid these sanctions. According to the Associated Press set, which means that the total number of sanctioned ships is now over 400.

political hurdles and negotiations

The agreement on the new sanctions was not entirely unproblematic and was initially blocked by Slovakia. This had expressed concerns, in particular with regard to the economic consequences of an import stop for Russian gas from 2028, but finally agreed after assurances were made that serious economic consequences would be absent.

As the German wave reports, a compromise was found to ensure that the oil price lid is regularly adjusted. This affects sales to countries such as India, China and Turkey. In addition, companies that transport Russian oil below the new price lid are sanctioned.

The discussion about the effectiveness of the sanctions is still tense among the EU member states. Critics doubt that these measures can actually influence the strategy of the Kremlin, while supporters assume considerable economic losses for Russia.

A look into the future

In addition to the ban on transactions that affect the north stream pipelines, 22 other banks, including two Chinese, from the international finance system Swift are decoupled. This is a clear indication of the continued EU on Russia. But the challenges remain great: the US dollar dominates the global oil trade, which significantly limits the EU's skills to enforce these measures.