After Russian escalations: EU proposes new sanctions

As of: 09/28/2022 7:51 p.m

The EU wants to react to the partial mobilization and the “referendums” in Ukraine – with new sanctions against Moscow. Commission President von der Leyen’s proposal includes an oil price cap and export bans.

The EU Commission has proposed another package of sanctions against Russia, including an oil price cap. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s proposal is also a reaction to the recent Russian escalation of partial mobilization and the sham referendums in the occupied Ukrainian territories.

The EU countries must negotiate the proposal and then adopt it unanimously.

Oil price cap – but some EU countries are against it

If the proposal were accepted, the EU would join an oil price cap already agreed upon by the G7 countries. It should also apply to third countries.

The aim of the oil price cap is that Russia earns less with its oil exports – Russian oil should only be allowed to be sold if it was sold below a certain price limit. The lever to enforce this should be important services such as insurance for the tankers, which should then only be provided if the rules are observed.

“This oil price cap will on the one hand help to reduce Russia’s revenues and on the other hand keep the global energy markets stable,” said von der Leyen. EU countries such as Hungary, Cyprus and Greece had recently resisted such a price cap. Cyprus and Greece have large tanker fleets that transport oil.

Irrespective of a possible cap, the EU has already decided to stop importing Russian oil from the beginning of December. However, there are exceptions for some EU countries.

No more seats for EU citizens on Russian supervisory boards

Part of the new sanctions proposal is a ban on EU citizens holding seats in the management of Russian state-owned companies – a rule that Germany in particular had advocated after the gas lobbyist and ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder had been chairman of the supervisory board of the Russian company Rosneft for a long time was.

Further export bans and list of sanction violators

According to the will of the EU Commission, further export bans are also to be imposed: These include products from the aviation sector, electronic components and certain basic chemicals, said von der Leyen.

A new list of people who have tried to circumvent the existing sanctions should also be created. This is intended to deter and help prevent further attempts to circumvent the sanctions.

The US is also working on new sanctions

The US also wants to impose new sanctions. The punitive measures coordinator, James O’Brien, said the government in Moscow would have to pay a high price for the sham referendums. The sanctions continue to focus on military supply chains and vulnerable parts of the Russian economy. However, he did not give any details.

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