The European Commission could propose, on Tuesday 3 May, an embargo on Russian oil with a transition period until the end of 2022.
On arrival at the ‘Energy’ Council in Brussels on Monday 2 May, several ministers voiced their support for oil sanctions. Irish Energy Minister Eamon Ryan said the EU must be “strong and fast”. “Otherwise, this war could go on for long”, he said.
His Polish counterpart, Anna Moskwa, called for immediate sanctions on Russian oil and gas. “This is the next, urgent, absolute step that should be taken into account in the next pile of sanctions”, she explained.
The German minister, Robert Habeck, was more cautious. Although Germany has reduced its dependence on Russian oil imports from 35% to 12% since the war, it is not yet ready to completely divest itself of Russian oil. “It would help if we have some weeks or months, more time to do all the preparations, meaning the technical preparations”, he explained. Mr Habeck said that “after two months of work”, Germany is not against an oil ban on Russia. “Of course, it is a heavy load to bear, but we are ready to do that”, he said.
According to a source quoted by AFP, the implementation of an oil embargo also comes up against the fact that Hungary and Slovakia depend solely on Russian pipelines for their supplies and that such a decision should not lead to a global spike in oil prices.
On 11 April, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, recalled that Russian oil imports into the EU amount to €80 billion per year, compared to €20 billion for gas (see EUROPE 12930/2). According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), since 24 February and the start of the Russian invasion, the EU has paid Russia €19.7 billion for its oil.
The sixth package of sanctions could also include the exclusion of Sberbank from the Swift system. It represents 37% of the Russian market. Further targeted sanctions against individuals and entities undermining Ukraine’s territorial integrity could also be adopted.
The package is expected to be discussed at the meeting of Member States’ ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) on Wednesday 4 May.
On Sunday 1 May, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told Mr Borrell that the new sanctions package should include an embargo on Russian oil.
On the same day, the Chair of the Russian Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, said that his country should take “mirror measures towards businesses in Russia whose owners come from unfriendly countries where such measures were taken: confiscate these assets”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant and Damien Genicot)