As reported, a draft law on a legal ban on imports of Russian oil was scheduled to be published in April. However, it was withdrawn from the preliminary agenda without official explanations.
The situation is developing against the backdrop of rising oil prices above $100 per barrel and tensions around supplies from the Persian Gulf. Under these conditions, some G7 countries have started to review the sanctions regime against Russian oil. The US extended certain sanctions exemptions, and the UK followed suit.
According to the Helsinki-based think tank Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), Russia’s revenues from fossil fuel exports rose by 4% to more than €733 million per day in April. The organization called this figure the highest in the last two and a half years.
Risks for sanctions policy
Finnish MEP Ville Niinistö said that the European Commission’s delay plays into the hands of the Russian economy and undermines the effectiveness of the sanctions regime.
According to him, a legally enshrined ban on Russian oil imports becomes especially important against the background of the gradual weakening of global sanctions.
Lithuanian Energy Minister Žygimantas Vaičiūnas also expressed hope that the European Commission would submit the document by the end of the year, despite doubts raised by the global oil crisis.
A spokesman for the European Commission said that Brussels is currently focused on “immediate measures” in connection with the energy risks associated with the situation around Iran. At the same time, the EU confirmed its intention to complete work on initiatives within the RepowerEU program, including the preparation of a proposal on Russian oil.
The situation shows the growing contradictions within the Western sanctions coalition amid the instability of the global energy market.
For the EU, the issue of a complete rejection of Russian oil remains not only political but also economic – it affects energy security, the cost of energy resources and the sustainability of European industry.
