The European Union will not “shy away” from adopting a full ban on maritime services for Russian oil tankers if G7 allies fail to reach a deal, Valdis Dombrovskis, the European Commissioner for the Economy, has said as negotiations continue between member states on a fresh round of economic sanctions against the Kremlin.
Brussels wants the 20th package of sanctions to be approved by the time the full-scale invasion of Ukraine reaches its grim fourth anniversary on 24 February.
If the proposed ban on maritime services is enacted, the price cap on Russian oil that the G7 has been operating since December 2022 will come to an end within the EU’s jurisdictionbecause all EU companies would be prohibited from servicing Russian tankers, regardless of the price at which they sell their Urals crude.
The cap was last adjusted to $44.10 per barrel.
“We have been presenting the outline of the measures to be taken to our G7 partners because obviously it’s best if we take steps in a coordinated manner,” Dombrovskis said on Tuesday afternoon after a meeting of finance ministers in Brussels.
“In a sense, it’s not an absolute precondition. But the higher alignment we can achieve, including at the G7 level, the better,” he went on. “We will not shy away also to take steps at the EU level should the broader agreement not be forthcoming.”
The remarks represent a notable change of tone from the Commission. Earlier this month, the executive made it clear that the EU would move forward with the full ban only after a decision is made at the G7 level.
But at this stage, it is not clear how many G7 allies are willing to mirror the measure and terminate the price cap on Russian oil.
Contacted by Euronews, the governments of the United Kingdom and Canada, as well as Australia, which is a member of the price cap coalition, said they were aware of the Commission’s proposal.
“We are working closely with our G7 partners to increase the economic pressure on Russia, including by going after Russian energy revenues as a core part of this strategy. We continue to work closely with our EU and G7 partners on this, and discussions are ongoing,” a spokesperson from the British Foreign Office told Euronews.
The United States and Japan did not reply.
Negotiations among EU ambassadors are set to continue throughout the week to ensure the package of sanctions is approved either before or on 24 February. The deadline might slip if more time is required to achieve an ambitious outcome.
Greece,a country with a powerful maritime industry, has raised concerns about the full ban on maritime services, according to diplomats.
Athens believes the prohibition risks increasing competition from India and China, empowering Russia’s “shadow fleet” and further encouraging the removal of vessels from their national registry, a deceptive practice known as “deflagging”.
A deal at the G7 level could influence the Greek thinking. However, the last time allies adjusted the price cap on Russian oil, the US opted out.
“We need to do what we need to do,” Swedish Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson said on Tuesday morning. “Of course, the more we are, the better it is.”
Kyrgyzstan under scrutiny
The other most notable element contained in the 20th package of sanctions is the activation of the Anti-Circumvention Tool for the very first time.
The Commission has proposed to trigger the tool to curtail sales of EU-made computer numerical machines and radios to countries “where there is a high risk that these products are re-exported to Russia”.
This has put the spotlight on Kyrgyzstan. The mountainous country of 7 million people, which shares a customs union with Russia, has long been suspected of serving as a back channel to help Moscow obtain blacklisted items that it is otherwise unable to procure.
EU-Kyrgyzstan trade has skyrocketed to eyebrow-raising levels since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In 2021, the EU exported €263 million in goods to Kyrgyzstan. In 2024, exports of goods were worth €2,500 million.
More than half of those exports were machinery and transport equipment, the very ones that Brussels fears might be sold to Moscow, then dismantled and reused on the battlefield in Ukraine.
The foreign ministry of Kyrgyzstan did not reply to a request for comment.
Like any other sanction, triggering the Anti-Circumvention Tool will need unanimity from all 27 member states. Last summer, Denmark tested the waters for a potential activation, but there was not enough consensus and the idea was abandoned.
Ambassadors met with David O’Sullivan, the EU sanctions envoy, on Monday to discuss the potential implications of setting the mechanism in motion. O’Sullivan plans to travel to Kyrgyzstan in the coming days to continue outreach efforts.
The push to approve a new round of sanctions comes in the midst of trilateral talks between Ukrainian, Russian and American officials. Most European leaders take the view that the Kremlin is not serious about making concessions, meaning more economic pressure is needed.
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, and António Costa, the president of the European Council, plan to travel to Ukraine on 24 February.
Once again, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on European nations to target Russian nuclear energy, which is so far spared from sanctions due to the resistance of a few Eastern European countries who operate nuclear plants fuelled by Rosatom.
“Fuck away to Russia. Go home,” Zelenskyy said on Monday, in a speech telling Russians they were not welcome in the US or Europe.
“You don’t respect anybody in the United States. You don’t respect the rules. You don’t respect democracy. You don’t respect Ukraine or Europe. Go home.”