On Tuesday, the EU Commission presented a sanctions package that for the first time targets Russian energy. But there will be a need to go further. This is what EU President Charles Michel said in a speech to the EU Parliament in Strasbourg.
- I expect that sanctions against Russian oil and gas will also soon be necessary, says Charles Michel to applause from the EU Parliament.
The announcement from Charles Michel comes the day after the EU Commission presented its proposal for the fifth sanctions package. It targets, among other things, the purchase of coal from Russia. In the package, the EU Commission specifically proposes to introduce a ban on buying coal worth four billion euros per year.
This is the first time that the EU has sought to target Russian energy exports, but this is happening to a very limited extent. European countries continue to buy coal, oil and especially gas from Russia.
While the war in Ukraine continues, EU countries will probably continue to send billions of euros to Russia to pay for Russian energy. This has prompted Ukrainian President Zelensky to accuse EU countries of helping to finance Putin's war in Ukraine.
Killings of civilians call for action
On Wednesday, however, both Charles Michel and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, made it clear that the killings of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Butja call for new action.
- Russia calls it a liberation of Ukraine. We call it war crimes. We must call it by its right name, says Ursula von der Leyen to applause from the European Parliament.
- At this critical time, we must increase the pressure on Russia and on Putin, says Ursula von der Leyen.
Like Michel, she states that more sanctions will come.
- Now we must look at oil, and we must look at the earnings that Russia has from fossil fuels, says Ursula von der Leyen.
The announcement comes while EU countries such as Germany are working hard to buy coal, oil and gas from countries other than Russia. At the same time, the United States has announced that it will help increase exports of oil and gas. This means that EU countries are in the process of getting rid of Russian energy.
However, recent weeks have shown that the EU Commission must be careful not to move too quickly with sanctions against Russian energy so as not to divide EU countries.
Among others, Germany and Italy have been heavily dependent on Russian energy, and EU countries are already struggling with high energy prices, which affect both companies and households. The concern has therefore been that tough sanctions will drive prices up further and lead EU countries into an economic recession.
Ritzau
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