The European Union has agreed to tighten screws on the Kremlin war machinery and impose new sanctions on Russia, targeting the country’s energy and financial sector in order to force a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine.
Sanctions approved on Friday by the Brussels ambassador ban the direct and indirect use of 22 Russian banks, the Russian direct investment fund and its subsidiaries, as well as the current shutdown of the underwater Node Stream pipeline, but Moscow is about to restart at some point in the future.
Additionally, the EU will convert the price cap for Russian crude oil, which has been fixed at $60 per barrel since December 2022, according to diplomatic sources, into a dynamic mechanism that has been fixed at $60 per barrel since December 2022.
The new cap kicks in at $47.6 per barrel and is automatically adjusted every six months, allowing ad hoc adjustments if market fluctuations are required.
The US, the main supporter of the G7-level price cap during the previous administration, is not supporting the downward revision.
In addition, there are 105 more ships. “Shadow Fleet”the elderly tankers that Moscow employs to bypass the price cap have been denied access to EU ports and EU services. This will result in a “Shadow Fleet” blacklist of more than 400 vessels.
In a critical change that closes the infamous loophole, the EU has decided to refine Russian crude oil and ban the import of petroleum products made by selling them throughout the block under a separate label. These come mainly from India and Türkiye.
The restrictions also cover 11 non-Russia companies accused of allowing evasion, including four in mainland China and three in Hong Kong.
The contract represents the 18th sanctions package since February 2022. Kaja Karas, a high-ranking national team, called him one of the “strongest” ever.
“We are amazed at the heart of Russia’s war machinery,” said Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission.
“There’s pressure on me. It’ll last until Putin ends this war,” she added.
Ukrainian President Voldy Mie Zelensky also celebrated the news. “This decision is now timely, especially in response to the fact that Russia has reinforced the brutality of strikes in our cities and villages,” he said.
Political breakthroughs were only possible after Slovakia allowed them to tolerate and lifted their veto.
Slovak opposition is related to a completely different issue. Phasing down all Russian fossil fuels by the end of 2027.
The European Commission has released its roadmap In May I have presented a bill Junebased on a loose ban on short- and long-term gas contracts.
As an inland country, Slovakia has protested its plans vigorously, warning that it will raise consumer prices, weaken its competitiveness and put energy security at risk. Because phase-out is subject to a qualified majority, Bratislava resorted to sanctions that required unanimity to extract concessions from Brussels.
During last month’s EU summit, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico raised his antique in a series Financial compensation requirements It was not fulfilled.
FICO is facing a lawsuit from Gazprom, the Russian gas monopoly, and said his country is worth between 16 and 20 billion euros due to the termination of a long-term contract that will be carried out until 2034. The committee said it would argue that in court the committee would act as a “large scale of power” and that businesses and businesses would suffer damage.
The Lonely Cross of FICO
Deadlock focuses on practical solutions to strengthen dialogue between Bratislava and Brussels, to move Slovak energy mix away from Russia, strengthen connections with neighboring countries, and reduce price volatility.
FICO welcomed outreach as “constructive” I grabbed his groundA surprising diplomat who thought his veto would be lifted sooner. German Prime Minister Friderich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tass intervened to break the impasse.
On Tuesday, von der Leyen sent a three-page letter to FICO with peace of mind about implementing phase-outs, including the possibility of state aid and EU funding rollouts to “compensate for negative impacts on households and industries.”
Von Der Leyen also pledged to trigger an “emergency break” and clarify the criteria for temporarily suspending the application of gas bans in the case of “extreme price spikes.”
The letter did not mention a Slovak TaylorMade financial envelope.
“We have worked closely with the most directly interested member states, particularly Slovakia, to ensure that the EU-wide phase-off of Russian energy imports will be gradually adjusted across unions,” writes von der Reyen.
Von der Reyen’s offer, according to FICO, who posted the entire secret letter on social media Flat out was denied by his allied partner.
“Their response is that the committee’s guarantees for Slovakia are inadequate. Some explained that they were nothing,” he said.
He then requested a full waiver of phase-out in order to continue purchasing Russian gas until the end of his contract with Gazprom in 2034.
However, a few days later, amid increasing pressure, FICO gave up his veto.
“At this point, continuing to block the 18th sanctions package is counterproductive,” he said Thursday evening. “All options have been exhausted for now and staying in a blocking position is already putting our interests at stake.”
However, Slovakia vowed to continue his crusade against “ideologically and compulsively anti-Russian” phase-out, as he called it.
“The second phase of our fight with the European Commission on Russia’s gas issues will begin,” he said. “We have a clear plan to fulfill our national interests.”
The new sanctions deal comes as US President Donald Trump Enhance his rhetoric It was a major change that was quickly welcomed across Europe, sending deadly aid to Ukraine and pledging to impose “serious tariffs” on Russia.
But so far, the White House has refused to support the low price cap for Russia’s oil. Brussels is confident it can secure buy-in from other G7 allies, particularly the UK, which enjoys a strategically dominant position in maritime insurance.
The new cap is “to be discussed with the Price Cap Union at the upcoming G7 level,” a committee spokesperson said Friday.
This article has been updated with more information.
