The European Commission (EC) has proposed an 18th round of European sanctions against Russia, with changes to the oil price cap, more dual-use restrictions and further extensions of a ban on Russian banks using the SWIFT system
“Our message is clear, the war must end,” said EC president, Ursula von der Leyen.
“Russia's goal is not peace, it is to impose the rule of might. Therefore, we are ramping up pressure on Russia. Because strength is the only language that Russia will understand.”
The EC is proposing to cut the oil price cap from US$60 to US$45 per barrel in order to boost the effectiveness of the mechanism.
Oil, tech and finance
The price cap limits the amount that European companies can pay for Russian energy products.
As the price of energy has fallen since it was first introduced in 2022, the EC says it is adapting the cap to market conditions.
There is also a proposed extension of a ban on Russian access to SWIFT, the international financial information platform that banks use to process payments.
The EC is proposing to extend the ban to another 22 Russian banks, as well as banning financial operations based in third parties that allegedly help Russia avoid sanctions.
Export bans on critical technology and industrial goods, including further measures on dual-use goods, have also been suggested.
“It is clear that Russia does not want peace. Nothing suggests that Russia is ready for peace. On the contrary, Russia is escalating its war in Ukraine,” said Kaja Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy.
Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are ongoing in Turkey, with a prisoner swap agreed, but the US, UK and European representatives are said to be growing frustrated with the pace of talks.
Aligned
Von der Leyen said the EC had spoken to G7 allies, including the US. She said she had spoken several times to South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham, who had sponsored a number of bills in the US congress aimed at imposing further sanctions on Russia.
“We are very much aligned in the aim to urge Russia, by those massive sanctions, to come to the negotiation table and be serious about negotiations that lead to a just and lasting peace.
“That is the common aim… we are very much aligned on that aim and I’m very confident we will achieve this goal.”
Graham, a key Trump ally, had promised a sanctions bill that he said would be “bone crushing” for the Russian economy, and has worked with Democratic counterparts on legislation in the past.
National interest
Slovakian prime minister, Robert Fico, told reporters that he would block the measures if he deemed them harmful to the national interest.
"If there is a sanction that would harm us, I will never vote for it," Fico said, according to the Kyiv Independent.
Fico, alongside Hungarian PM Vicktor Orban, is commonly seen as one of the European leaders closest to Moscow. Under European decision-making rules, one member can effectively veto the package.
