EU faces tough task in adopting 18th package of sanctions against Russia - FT
The European Commission has presented proposals for the 18th package of sanctions against Russia. The restrictions could be the toughest since the first months of Russia's full-scale invasion. However, the package requires the support of all 27 EU countries and, most likely, US President Donald Trump.
This is reported by the Financial Times, Censor.NET informs.
The European Commission's proposals include, in particular, a ban on the use of the Nord Stream gas pipeline, a reduction in the ceiling price for Russian oil set by the G7 to $45 from $60, and a ban on the import of oil products produced in third countries from Russian oil.
Slovakia and Hungary have already opposed the new restrictions. The European capitals say they have heard this before, but Bratislava and Budapest usually "meet and agree" later on, so there is no reason to believe that a compromise will not be found this time.
Trump is a completely different matter, the newspaper writes. The EU presented the package before the G7 summit, which begins on August 15, to create momentum and convince the White House to increase pressure on Russia and make it take negotiations seriously.
"A decline in world oil prices, an eternal desire of any American leader, would be an additional incentive," the journalists noted.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was skeptical about the decline in Russian oil prices.
"But officials point out that only one person makes the final decision, and it is unclear exactly what Trump's position is on the issue of putting pressure on Putin. Measures against Nord Stream must be approved by EU capitals, and many European countries have previously criticized Germany for building the pipeline.
The proposal for petroleum products made from Russian crude, however, could cause discontent, and not just from countries such as India and Turkey, which still buy Russian oil and sell petroleum products to the EU," the FT writes.
European buyers will have to look for an alternative, which could lead to higher costs. It will also be difficult to determine what kind of oil certain petroleum products were made from, making it difficult to implement such a sanction measure, even if it receives unanimous support.
The 18th package of sanctions against Russia
On June 10, the European Commission officially presented the new 18th package of EU sanctions against Russia.
Slovak Prime Minister Fico threatens to disrupt the adoption of the 18th package of EU sanctions against Russia.
