Before the images arriving from the cities of Ukraine occupied by the Russian army and then abandoned, The EU is launching another package of sanctions against Moscow, Energy, an area that has so far been spared economic measures aimed at sapping the Kremlin’s war effort. According to President Ursula von der Leyen, the fifth package of measures that the Commission is proposing to the member states will ban coal imports from Russia worth 4 billion euros a year. A measure that “deprives Russia of another important source of income,” he emphasizes.
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Coal could only be the beginning: The Commission, specified von der Leyen, is working on further measures to ban the import of Russian oil into the EU. Gas is not explicitly mentioned, but French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire spoke of a “calendar” on energy sanctions for member states to agree on. Federal Economics Minister Christian Lindner himself said that it was “currently” not possible to stop gas supplies from Russia. For now not forever. And Germany is the EU country most dependent on Russian gas, more than Italy.
The package of measures proposed by the Commission will be examined by the Permanent Representatives at Coreper tomorrow in Brussels. While the first rumors yesterday spoke of sanctions on oil and gas, the choice for the time being has fallen to coal, a sign that there is still no consensus on the first two, as any measure affecting energy comes at a cost to member states is connected, particularly high with gas. But, said Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni in Luxembourg, if one decides not to respond to “military aggression” with “war” but with “economic measures”, one is aware that “there is a price” to be paid. And the EU is ready to pay for it, he assured.
Given Russia’s actions, Le Maire stressed, the “unity” of the 27 is the most precious thing and must be preserved. Therefore, the package that the Commission will present to the Ambassadors tomorrow, and on which a consensus of States can reasonably be expected, provides for “six pillars”, as explained by von der Leyen, who has had a tight “Question Time” in Strasbourg today ” with MPs. In addition to the import ban on coal from Russia for 4 billion, export bans are planned for 10 billion in areas where Russia is “vulnerable.
The export ban from the EU to Russia includes, explained von der Leyen, “quantum computers and advanced semiconductors”, but also “sensitive machines” and “transport devices”. Therefore, he added, “we will continue to deteriorate Russia’s technological and industrial base.” The package also includes “concrete” import bans worth 5.5 billion euros to “cut off the flow of money ending up in Russia and its oligarchs” on products ranging “from wood to concrete, from fruit” to closing the deficiencies “in the sanctions system” between Russia and Belarus “.
The package proposed by the Commission also includes a “complete ban on transactions with 4 major Russian banks”, including VTB, which accounts for 23% of the credit sector in Russia. It is also proposed to ban Russian or Russianoperated ships from accessing EU ports, with some exceptions such as “food and agricultural products, humanitarian aid and energy”. A ban on Russian and Belarusian land carriers is also on the table, which “will drastically limit Russian industry’s ability to procure key goods,” says von der Leyen.
“Extremely targeted” measures are also outlined, such as banning Russian companies from participating in tenders in the EU and excluding any financial support, “European or national”, for Russian public bodies. The list of sanctioned persons will eventually be expanded. The Commission is working on “further action” on Russian “oil” and is “considering” ideas proposed by member states, such as “taxes” and “specific payment channels, such as escrow”.
Finally, there comes from the French Presidency an explicit openness to the idea put forward by Renew Europe MEP Sandro Gozi to set up an EU fund to cushion the impact of sanctions against Russia on the hardest hit areas and companies given the measures are not uniform across the EU but affect different countries from time to time (e.g. the export ban on luxury goods is hurting Italy and France, while today’s proposed measure on ports is not favorable to Holland).
Something similar, on a smaller scale, was done to compensate the countries hardest hit by Brexit. The idea, Le Maire said in Luxembourg at the end of Ecofin, “was not raised directly this morning, but we are ready to consider any proposals that can be made by the European Parliament. Let’s see he stressed that this war has very different effects depending on the Member State: all the proposals that make it possible to mitigate these effects and protect the States most vulnerable are relevant “.
(From correspondent Tommaso Gallavotti)