The European Union has approved a new gections against Russia, the 18th since the start of the invasion of Ukraine. This new package, presented as one of the most severe to date, mainly aims at Russian oil and energy sectors.
Among the flagship measures is the reduction in the price of the price of Russian oil exported, now set at $ 47.6 a barrel, according to diplomats cited by the Reuters agency. This ceiling had been initially established by the G7 countries to limit Moscow’s energy income.
“The EU has just approved one of its most severe sanctions trains against Russia to date,” said Kaja Kallas, a high representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs. It has reaffirmed the European desire to maintain pressure: “We will continue to increase costs, so that stopping attack becomes the only option for Moscow”.
However, the adoption of this new component of sanctions was delayed by Slovakia. Bratislava demanded guarantees from Brussels concerning a project to gradually reduce imports of Russian gas, with a complete stop objective by January 1, 2028. A requirement to which the EU finally responded to obtain the unanimity necessary.
