The EU countries have formally approved the 19th sanctions package against Russia on Thursday morning, writes the news agency Reuters. The formal approval has come after it was announced on Wednesday evening by the Danish EU presidency that an agreement had been reached among the EU countries. This became clear when Slovakia dropped its opposition to the package.
The Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lars Løkke Rasmussen (M), said on Thursday that it is "a good day for Europe and Ukraine".
- It is extremely positive that we have reached agreement on the 19th sanctions package against Russia, says Løkke.
- It will introduce new and comprehensive measures against oil and gas, the shadow fleet and Russia's financial sector, continues the Foreign Minister.
The package includes a ban on the import of liquefied natural gas from Russia. According to Løkke, this is an "important step towards completely phasing out Russian energy in the EU".
- The sanctions have a real effect and are damaging the Russian economy. Russia is finding it increasingly difficult to finance its illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, says Løkke.
Slovakia stood in the way of the attempt to get the package adopted for a long time. Slovakia's Prime Minister, Robert Fico, wanted concessions from the EU Commission, among other things, in relation to high energy prices. But a Slovak diplomat announced on Wednesday that the country's demands had been met by the EU.
Ban phased in
The ban on imports of liquefied natural gas will be introduced in two phases. Import contracts with short terms must be cancelled within six months, and contracts with long terms must be scrapped by 1 January 2027.
There is an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday. Among the topics is also expected to be how and whether frozen Russian funds can be used to provide a huge loan to Ukraine.
Thursday's package also targets the so-called shadow fleet, which the UN Maritime Organization describes as ships with insufficient insurance contracts that circumvent sanctions and avoid controls.
The ships sail under flags other than the Russian one and thus circumvent the West's sanctions on Russia's oil exports.
The 18th sanctions package was agreed upon by EU countries in July. At the time, it was stated that the purpose of the new package, among other things, was to hit the Russian energy sector.
/ritzau/
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