The European Commission has presented new sanctions against Russia to the 27 EU member states, highlighted by a lowering of the cap on the price of Russian oil, as the bloc looks to find a unanimous agreement on the measures before the end of the month.
The key proposal in this round, the 18th since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago, is to lower the price cap on Russian oil to $45 per barrel from the current $60. The hope in Brussels is that the Group of Seven (G7) countries will agree on this move when the heads of state and government meet for a summit in Alberta, Canada, next week.
Other measures include a transaction ban on both Nordstream 1 & 2. While no Russian gas currently flows through the two Baltic Sea underwater pipelines that connect Russia with Germany, such a move aims to prevent the potential resumption of such supplies.
"Oil exports still represent one-third of Russia's government revenues. We need to cut this source of revenues," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told a news conference in Brussels on June 10.
She added that the cap change is necessary since the price of oil has dropped so much "that the effectiveness of the cap is to be questioned, and therefore we all want to lower the oil price from $60 per barrel down to $45 per barrel."
Other sanctions include a proposal to lock out 22 Russian banks from the international financial messaging service, SWIFT, and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and its subsidiaries will also be targeted by sanctions.
Russia's Shadow Fleet Banned From Ports
Like previous rounds of restrictive measures, there are more ships belonging to Russia's so-called shadow fleet being added to an EU servicing ban.
So far over 300 vessels believed to be circumventing EU sanctions by carrying mainly Russian oil have been listed, meaning they are not allowed to call at EU ports or be serviced by companies in the bloc.
In addition, nine individuals and 33 companies would be slapped with asset freezes, meaning the EU blacklist would surpass 2,500 entries.
Rosneft is still not targeted, but a company from the United Arab Emirates and an Iranian businessman alleged by the bloc to be trading with the Russian oil giant are included.
Belarus, which in various ways has supported the Kremlin's war effort, is hit in this round, too. Four arms companies from the country are sanctioned, and EU countries will no longer be able to import arms from Belarus.
Previously there was only an EU arms export ban in place against Minsk. The club is also trying to close various sanctions loopholes by banning products to Belarus that can be used for military purposes such as various chemicals, metals, and plastics.
