EU wants to ban all coal imports from Russia
EU wants to ban all coal imports from Russia
The European Union plans to ban all coal imports from Russia. The ban is to be part of the sanctions the EU is planning in response to war crimes committed by Russian troops.
The European Union plans to tighten its sanctions against Russia. With the ban on coal imports, the energy sector is to be sanctioned directly for the first time. Sanctions are also planned for Russian ships and trucks.
DThe European Union plans to ban all coal imports from Russia. The news agencies Reuters and Bloomberg report unanimously. Accordingly, the ban should be part of the sanctions that the EU is planning in response to the war crimes committed by Russian troops in Ukraine.
Details are not yet known, but could be decided this week. Insiders also reported that the European Commission plans to ban Russian trucks and ships in the EU.
Oil and gas deliveries from Russia are not yet to be sanctioned. However, the EU member states sometimes have very different views on the next sanctions. Some state governments are hoping for a signal from the EU this week to also reduce Russian oil imports.
Germany is one of the few countries that do not want to impose further sanctions on the Russian energy sector. Austria and Hungary have also resisted so far. However, the ban on all coal imports and further measures against Russia require the consent of all 27 EU member states.
The Commission is also proposing to add dozens of other people and entities to the sanctions list, including banks like VTB Bank, which have been banned from the Swift payments system but are not yet fully sanctioned.
Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) supports a possible EU freeze on deliveries of Russian coal. As the German Press Agency learned from circles in the ministry on Tuesday, the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection and the Federal Government are in close contact with the EU Commission. There are considerations to stop coal imports at a time yet to be named.
Report: “Germany can be independent of Russian coal by autumn.”
It is in line with the line of the Federal Ministry of Economics to achieve independence from Russian energy imports segment by segment and step by step, it said. The ministry has been working hard for weeks to create the conditions for making the “cut” as early as possible.
Reference was made to an “Energy Security Progress Report” presented ten days ago, according to which independence would be fastest for coal. The report said: “By the fall, Germany can be independent of Russian coal.”
Accordingly, an import ban for coal is the first possible option, as the circles said. The ministry is currently examining how it can speed up the necessary requirements. Habeck made it clear on Sunday that Bucha’s “war crimes” could not remain unanswered and that the sanctions against Russia had to be tightened
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on the fringes of the meeting in Luxembourg that he, as acting Council President, was campaigning for the approval of all 27 member countries. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian also wanted to talk to Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) in Berlin about further punitive measures.
Christian Lindner wants to leave gas imports from Russia untouched
French President Emmanuel Macron had already called for a freeze on oil and coal imports. The FDP agreed to move away from Russian oil. In the case of oil, unlike with gas, the changeover could “succeed within a few weeks,” said FDP energy expert Michael Kruse. Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) spoke out against stopping gas imports on Monday, but left measures in the oil and coal sectors open.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a visit to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv for this week. Together with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, she wants to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy there, her spokesman said.