New EU Sanctions Package Aims to Ban Russian LNG, Target Third-Country Evaders
The European Commission's next sanctions package against Russia will ban imports of Russian liquefied natural gas, designate more shadow fleet vessels, target more Russian banks, introduce new export controls and more, President Ursula von der Leyen announced last week.
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The ban on imports of Russian LNG, included in what will be the EU's 19th sanctions package since Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022, will propose a ban on imports of Russian LNG to cut off Russian revenue earned from European markets, von der Leyen said.
"It is time to turn off the tap. We are prepared for this," she said. "We have been saving energy, diversifying supplies and investing in low-carbon sources of energy like never before. Today, these efforts pay off."
The EU also wants to sanction 118 additional shadow fleet vessels, impose a "full transaction ban" on Russian energy trading companies Rosneft and Gazpromneft, and sanction more third-country refineries, oil traders and petrochemical companies, including in China, for continuing to do business with Russia's energy sector. "In three years, Russia's oil revenues in Europe have gone down by 90%," von der Leyen said. "We are now turning that page for good."
The package also will look to close the "financial loopholes" that Russia uses to evade sanctions by banning transactions with more banks in Russia and third countries. The bloc will target crypto platforms tied to Russia sanctions evasion "for the first time" and "prohibit transactions in crypto currencies."
In addition, the EU will propose new export controls over items and technologies that Russia uses on the battlefield, and it will sanction 45 companies in Russia and third countries that have been "providing direct or indirect support" to Russia's military industrial complex.
"In a war driven by innovation, cutting off Russia's access to key technologies is crucial," von der Leyen said. "Above all when it comes to drones."
Other sanctions will target foreign banks connected to Russian alternative payment service systems and restrict certain transactions with entities in special economic zones. The EU is also working to finance Ukraine's defense efforts through frozen Russian assets, von der Leyen said. "With the cash balances associated to these Russian assets, we can provide Ukraine with a reparations loan. The assets themselves will not be touched. And the risk will have to be carried collectively," she said. "Ukraine will only pay back the loan once Russia pays reparations. We will come forward with a proposal soon."
Von der Leyen added that the sanctions will be coordinated with the Group of Seven countries. The White House didn't respond to a request for comment about whether the U.S. will impose any of the sanctions.
"I now call on the Member States to quickly endorse these new sanctions," von der Leyen said.