EU is facing a tough battle to adopt the 18th package of sanctions against Russia - FT
Kyiv • UNN
The EU is proposing an 18th package of sanctions against Russia, including lowering the oil price cap to $45. Hungary and Slovakia are against it, and Trump's decision is unknown.
The European Union will face a tough battle to approve the 18th package of sanctions against Russia, as its approval requires the support of all 27 EU countries and, most likely, US President Donald Trump. This is reported by Financial Times, writes UNN.
Details
It is emphasized that Brussels has finally presented its "tough" 18th package of sanctions against Russia. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the EU has introduced 17 packages of sanctions in response, trying to suppress Moscow's military-industrial complex and punish those who support the war.
The sanctions package, presented yesterday, June 10, includes a ban on the use of the Nord Stream gas pipelines connecting Russia and Germany, a step to reduce the G7-established oil price ceiling from 60 to 45 dollars, as well as a ban on the import of petroleum products produced in third countries using Russian crude oil.
"This package is probably the most powerful since those introduced at the beginning of the war. But its approval requires the support of all 27 EU countries and, most likely, US President Donald Trump. Hungary and Slovakia have stated that they oppose the new sanctions measures. Other capitals say they have heard it before, and Budapest and Bratislava eventually gave up and agreed, so there is no reason to think that this will not happen again
As FT notes, Trump is a completely different matter. EU officials sought to propose new measures ahead of the upcoming G7 summit, which begins on Sunday, to build momentum and convince the White House that there is a point in increasing pressure on Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin to force him to start peace talks. Lowering world oil prices - the eternal desire of any US leader - would be an added incentive.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was skeptical of the oil price move when the issue was discussed at the G7 finance ministers' summit last month. But officials note that only one person makes the final decision, and it is certainly unclear what Trump's position is on the issue of putting pressure on Putin.
The measures regarding "Nord Stream" must be approved by the EU capitals, many of which condemned Germany for building the pipelines.
However, the proposal on processed products may meet with resistance, and not only from countries such as India and Turkey, which still buy Russian crude oil and sell its derivatives to the EU, the publication notes.
They, as the publication writes, EU buyers would have to find alternatives, presumably for a fee. It is also extremely difficult to determine which processed products were made from which original crude oil, which makes implementation difficult, even if the measure receives unanimous support, the publication writes.
Addition
The EU has officially proposed the 18th package of sanctions against Russia, which proposes lowering the price ceiling for Russian oil from $60 to $45 per barrel, and is also aimed at the Russian Federation's "shadow fleet" for oil exports, the Russian banking sector.