The next sanctions that the European Union (EU) will impose on Russia will target banks, particularly Sberbank, as well as oil, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told a German newspaper.
“We are looking more at the banking sector, especially Sberbank, which represents 37 percent of the Russian banking sector. There are also energy issues,” Ursula von der Leyen told the Sunday newspaper Bild am Sonntag, who asked her for details on key points of the new sanctions.
The EU has spared Russia’s largest bank for now because, along with Gazprombank, it is one of the main payment channels for Russian oil and gas, which the bloc’s countries are buying despite the Ukraine conflict.
Sberbank and another major Russian bank, VTB Bank, were already subject to severe US sanctions aimed at largely restricting their international transactions in February. Sberbank’s European subsidiaries have already experienced setbacks.
“Intelligent Mechanisms” against Oil Revenue
The President of the European Commission added that the EU is developing “smart mechanisms” to ensure that oil is also included in the new sanctions.
“Putin shouldn’t be able to charge even higher prices in other markets for reserves that would normally go to the EU,” said Ursula von der Leyen. “The priority is to reduce Putin’s income,” she added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy continues to ask all his European interlocutors “to adopt strong sanctions”. He calls for a halt to oil and gas purchases and heavy arms supplies to resist the announced offensive in the Donbass region (east).
25% to 30% of European oil imports
Since the start of the war in Ukraine in late February, the Kremlin has made $27.3 billion from EU oil, gas and coal purchases, according to Velina Tchakarova, director of the Austrian Institute for Europe and Security Policy (AIES).
In 2020-2021, 45% of gas imports, 47% of coal imports and 25-30% of oil imports came from Russia.
The EU has imposed an embargo on the purchase of coal, but its volume is much smaller than that of gas and oil.
Last month, the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimated that sanctions against Russia could cause a “shock” in world oil supplies. But OECD countries fear a rise in crude oil prices at a time when inflation is already at levels not seen in decades.
latribune.fr
Apr 17, 2022 at 8:51 am