EU Proposes Lowering Russian Oil Price Cap, More Sanctions
The EU this week proposed another round of sanctions against Russia, including lowering the global price cap on Russian oil from $60 to $45 per barrel. The bloc also wants to sanction more vessels transporting Russian oil, designate Chinese companies sending dual-use goods to Russia, and introduce more financial restrictions.
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The EU is proposing to sanction another 77 vessels that are part of the Russian shadow fleet and wants to lower the oil price cap to reflect the current price of Russian oil, which has gone down since the cap was first introduced in 2023, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. Prices are now "very close to the cap level," she said, and "by lowering the cap, we adapt it to changed market conditions and restore its effectiveness."
Von der Leyen didn't specify whether the other Group of 7 countries imposing the cap, including the U.S., agreed that it should be lowered. She said the nations will "discuss how to act together" at the upcoming G7 summit in Canada next week.
The EU is also proposing to strengthen sanctions against 22 Russian banks by making them subject to a "full transaction ban" for use with Swift, a global financial messaging system. The bloc also wants to "extend the transaction ban to financial operators in third countries that finance trade to Russia in circumvention of sanctions," von der Leyen said, adding that this will limit Russia's ability to "raise funding and conduct transactions."
Other measures would introduce new "export bans worth more than 2.5 billion euro," which she said will further cut Russia off from critical technology and industrial goods. The items include certain machinery, metals, plastics and chemicals used as raw materials. "We also restrict the export of dual use goods and technologies that are used for producing drones, missiles, and other weapon systems," von der Leyen said. "We want to make sure that Russia does not find ways to modernise its weapons with European technologies."
The bloc is also proposing adding 22 companies, including some based in China and Belarus, to its list of entities "facing stricter restrictions on the dual use goods," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.
The proposal also includes a transaction ban for Russian oil pipeline projects Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, meaning no EU operator will be able to "engage directly or indirectly" in any transactions with those pipelines, von der Leyen said. "There is no return to the past."