The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will propose to EU leaders that certain Russian banks be excluded from the international payment system Swift. She said this at a press conference on Saturday evening.
A number of sanctions against Russia have already been adopted. The exclusion of Russian banks from Swift will further affect Russia's export opportunities.
According to economist and chief analyst at Danske Bank Jens Nærvig Pedersen, it does not appear, however, that this will affect the trade in oil and gas, on which both Russia and Europe are deeply dependent. A complete exclusion of all Russian banks from Swift would mean that Europe can no longer buy oil and gas from Russia.
- In theory, it is possible to trade without Swift, but in practice it will be difficult. If you exclude all the banks, it will probably be difficult to continue trading in oil and gas, says Jens Nærvig Pedersen.
The EU does not want to close the possibility of purchasing gas
The economist therefore sees that it will only apply to certain banks as an expression that the EU wants to hit the financial sector hard, but at the same time does not want to close the possibility of purchasing gas and oil in Russia.
- With the way the sanctions were presented on Saturday, it could seem that energy trade will be exempted when you have put it together in this way, says Jens Nærvig Pedersen.
If Europe can no longer buy oil and gas in Russia, it will have major consequences.
- It will hit consumers, and it will hit companies. It is also important for the transport sector, so it will have a broad impact on Europe's economy, says Jens Nærvig Pedersen.
In recent years, more than a third of the EU countries' natural gas and around a quarter of their oil have been imported from Russia. This is shown by figures from Eurostat, which compiles statistics on the EU countries.
A stop to the import of Russian gas and oil will, according to Jens Nærvig Pedersen, mean significant price increases for petrol and electricity.
- If it is closed overnight, it will probably be significantly more expensive, at least to start with. We have seen crises in the Middle East, where oil exports have been affected, but Russia is one of the world's leading producers of oil and gas. It is on a completely different scale than what we have seen before, says
It is not yet clear which banks will be excluded from Swift. According to Jens Nærvig Pedersen, it is therefore difficult to predict exactly what consequences the sanction will have.
Ritzau
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