European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers a speech during a plenary session of the European Parliament at the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, March 23, 2022.
Johannes Thys | AFP | Getty Images
LUXEMBOURG — The European Union is working on a new package of sanctions against Russia that will likely limit aircraft leasing and the import and export of products such as jet fuel, steel products and luxury goods, two sources with knowledge of the discussions told CNBC.
But the bloc remains divided on whether to extend those sanctions to energy imports – despite mounting evidence of war crimes being committed by Russian forces in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s top prosecutor said 410 bodies had been found in towns retaken from retreating Russian forces around Kyiv as part of an investigation into possible war crimes. Over the weekend, various international media reported on the mass murder of civilians in the Ukrainian city of Bucha, near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, which was occupied until recently by Russia.
The reports prompted a series of calls within the European Union for the bloc to go further and punish Moscow for its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The bloc is now working on a fifth package of sanctions against Russia, with the new round of measures expected to be approved later this week.
Two EU officials, who declined to be named due to the sensitive nature of the talks, told CNBC that a proposal for the next package of sanctions includes aircraft leasing, steel products, luxury goods and jet fuel. Both sources added that the package was still a work in progress and could change as talks resume in the coming days and ahead of a crucial meeting of EU ambassadors on Wednesday.
One of the officials added that “a major component is obviously missing” in relation to the lack of action for Russia’s energy sector.
The imposition of an immediate ban on Russian gas, oil or even coal has been a topic of heated debate within the EU since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. While some nations support a ban on Russian energy, other EU countries argue that they are too dependent on Russian energy and would harm their own economies more than Russia’s.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday the EU should agree to limit Russian oil and coal following the atrocities reported in Bucha. Poland, for example, announced last month that it would stop importing Russian coal.
However, there is a very vocal group of EU nations that are still opposed to authorizing energy sanctions.
“We want to be [in the] less dependent on Russian energy imports to the European Union in the short term and Germany will support further sanctions against Russia,” German Finance Minister Christian Lindner told CNBC in Luxembourg on Monday.
“We need to put more pressure on Putin and we need to isolate Russia – we need to cut all economic ties with Russia, but at the moment it is not possible to cut off gas supplies,” he added.
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When asked whether the EU should push ahead with sanctions against oil and gas for the time being, as suggested by Macron, Lindner said: “No speculation from me.”
His Austrian counterpart was also against a ban on Russian gas.
“Austria is not in favor of more gas sanctions. We are very dependent on Russian gas and I think any sanctions that hit us more than the Russians would not be good for us. That is why we are against sanctions on oil and gas,” Austria’s finance minister Magnus Brunner told CNBC.
The European statistical office estimates that Austria imported almost 59% of its natural gas from Russia in 2020. Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Latvia and Hungary imported an even higher share of natural gas from Russia in the same year, according to Eurostat.