by Francesca Basso, our correspondent in Brussels
Another package of measures against Moscow is under discussion. An import stop for hydrocarbons is on the table: Poland is pushing the more cautious Germany. Di Maio: Yes to the measures
For the fifth set of EU sanctions against Russia for invading Ukraine, we’ll have to await Thursday’s European Council, and it’s not certain that even then EU leaders will find the right place to hit Moscow’s oil. But yesterday “this was not a day to take any decisions, so we didn’t take any,” said EU High Representative Josep Borrell, trying to continue to show unity among member states, at the end of the Foreign Affairs Council Affairs”. Together with the Defense Council, he adopted the “Strategic Compass”, which defines the EU’s security and defense strategy for the next 510 years (including the rapid intervention capacity of 5,000 soldiers).
But yesterday morning, in a message on Telegram, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s call left no doubt: “Please do not sponsor the weapons of this war he said, referring to the EU”. No euro for the occupiers, block all your ports, don’t send them your goods, refuse energy resources. Force Russia to leave Ukraine ». Then he turned directly to Germany: “You have the power, Europe has the power”. “Without exchanges with you, without your companies and your banks he added Russia will have no more money for this war.”
For some time now, Poland and the Baltic states have been calling for a heartbreaking move in Moscow by blocking the export of hydrocarbons that are financing the war. For Lithuanian Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, “it is inevitable to deal with the energy sector, especially oil and coal, which are easily substitutable”. Ireland, Slovakia and Romania are also “open” to the debate. According to Romanian Minister Bogdan Aurescu, “we must be ready to impose further sanctions on Russia and to fight propaganda and disinformation. But the EU countries are divided. “If we could stop Russian oil imports, we would do it automatically,” said Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. “It’s not about whether we want it or not, but how dependent we are and, for example, Germany imports a lot of oil from Russia and how we import other EU countries. So it’s important that we talk to each other, understand how we can reduce this addiction.” He added, almost in response to Zelenskyy: “If we could, we would, but now we are preparing to take that step into the future as soon as possible.” Budapest also rejects sanctions in the energy sector: “We will not support any sanctions that endanger Hungary’s energy security,” said Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto. Caution also on the part of the Netherlands. As for our country, it is clear that Italy would be in trouble due to a cut in gas and oil imports from Russia. But Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio reiterated that “we are completely open to a fifth sanctions package, there is no veto from the Italian side, we are waiting for the European Commission’s proposal”. And he recalled that “in the energy sector, we committed ourselves to diversifying our sources of supply from the first day of this crisis”. The key point, Borrell stressed, is “to define an effective response that does not represent an prohibitive cost for European states”. Meanwhile, EU ministers have agreed on an additional 500 million under the European Peace Facility, bringing aid to Kyiv’s arms purchases to 1 billion.
French Foreign Minister JeanYves Le Drian also called for “serious consideration of the challenge of world food security”. The draft communication on this subject, which the EU Commission will present tomorrow, emphasizes that access to food in Europe is at risk “for lowincome families”.
March 21, 2022 (Modification March 22, 2022 | 08:56)
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