The Belgian presidency of the European Union seeks to reach a compromise on the 14th package of EU sanctions against Russia within 24 hours before the G7 summit, the Polish edition RMF24 reports, citing a comment by an EU diplomat, UNN writes.
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Belgium, which holds the EU presidency, wants to reach a compromise on the 14th package of sanctions against Russia within the next 24 hours, RMF FM has learned in Brussels. "Belgium has ambitions to find a deal before the G7 summit," the EU diplomat said. The G7 summit begins on June 13 in Puglia, Italy.
The publication points out that the main point of the 14th package of sanctions against Russia is a ban on the transshipment of Russian liquefied gas in EU ports.
The latest restrictions are expected to be stronger than the 13th package adopted on the second anniversary of the war in Ukraine, which did not include sectoral sanctions that hit Russia's economy. This afternoon, EU ambassadors will try to reach a compromise, the newspaper writes.
"There are chances for a quick adoption of the 14th package of sanctions, but it will be difficult," a senior EU diplomat told RMF FM in Brussels.
Most member states of the bloc, as indicated, can now adopt the latest proposals. However, several countries have substantive questions and requests that will be difficult to resolve within a few hours, the EU diplomat explained.
This applies to Hungary, as well as Germany and France, which still have serious reservations, the publication points out.
Budapest, as noted, believes that any sanctions against the energy sector are harmful, as they not only lead to higher prices but also increase supply risks.
And Berlin and Paris are reportedly reluctant to agree to a ban on the export of luxury cars to Belarus, which is where Russian oligarchs have been buying their goods since the ban on the export of such cars to Russia was introduced. The mirror sanctions against Belarus were intended to prevent Russians from circumventing the restrictions.
The Belgians say that if the EU members of the G7 want to land in Puglia with a package of strong sanctions in the bag, they need to demonstrate some sense of consensus.
For some countries, however, the date of the G7 meeting is less important, but they believe that the sanctions package should be adopted in June, before Hungary takes over the EU presidency in early July.