The EU is considering including energy in a fifth sanctions package against Russia. This is what EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis and French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire say. This could mean the EU is on its way to stepping up sanctions to hit Russia in the area that will hurt it the most: earnings from energy exports. The announcement comes at a press conference after the finance ministers' meeting in Luxembourg on Tuesday.
- France is willing to include coal and oil in new EU sanctions. But the most important thing is that we make the decision together. We will do this on the basis of a proposal from the EU Commission, says Bruno Le Maire.
He is thus suggesting that it is up to the EU Commission to draw up a draft for the fifth sanctions package. The EU countries must then approve it. Here, the EU Commission must tread carefully. The issue of restrictions on energy has repeatedly threatened to divide the EU countries. There is a big difference in how dependent the countries are on Russian energy.
However, France is planning to target oil and coal, which are the two forms of energy for which it is considered easiest to find replacements. Germany and Italy, among others, are heavily dependent on Russian gas, and this may be the reason why the French Finance Minister does not mention that form of energy.
Sanctions must be stepped up
According to Bruno Le Maire, however, there was agreement at Tuesday's meeting between the finance ministers of the 27 EU countries that the sanctions should be stepped up. But in addition to energy, the new sanctions are also expected to hit a number of other areas such as trade and certain Russian individuals and companies.
- The fifth sanctions package is still under preparation, so I cannot go into details, says EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis.
However, he confirms that the EU Commission is considering including energy in the sanctions package and specifically mentions coal.
- But the sanctions package is not only about energy. There will also be new sanctions against individuals. There will be trade sanctions and sanctions against the transport sector. But in order to adopt the sanctions, there must be unanimity among the 27 EU countries, emphasizes Valdis Dombrovskis.
The meeting of finance ministers was held while there is increasing criticism of Russia's behavior in Ukraine. Allegations of Russian war crimes against civilians in the Ukrainian town of Butja have increased pressure to implement new sanctions against Russia.
Ritzau
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