On Monday 5 December, two measures to sanction Russia for its war of aggression against Ukraine came into force: an EU embargo on Russian oil and a cap on the price of Russian oil.
The first measure, decided at the end of May, is a ban on importing Russian crude oil to the European Union by ship. It is part of the EU’s sixth package of sanctions against Moscow (see EUROPE 12961/1).
At this stage, this embargo does not concern oil transported via pipelines - a request from Hungary - and will be extended to refined petroleum products from 5 February 2023. In addition, several Member States have obtained derogations (see EUROPE 12965/9).
The cap is a measure which was agreed by the EU, the G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US) and Australia on Saturday 3 December.
It has the effect of limiting the price of a barrel of Russian oil exported by sea to $60. Any transaction above this cap would not be able to benefit from the services of shipowners and insurers from this group of countries - sectors dominated by the EU and the G7 countries - and theoretically could not be carried out.
To ensure a smooth transition, this measure will not apply to oil that is loaded onto ships before 5 December and unloaded before 19 January 2023.
For refined petroleum products, the cap will come into force on 5 February 2023.
While Moscow said it did not accept the cap, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the measure was insufficient because the price cap was too high. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)