Greece and Malta have expressed concerns about the EU's proposal to replace the price cap on Russian oil with a services ban. They fear the impact on the shipping industry and energy prices.
Greece and Malta have become the main obstacle to the implementation of the EU proposal to replace the price cap on Russian oil with a ban on services necessary for the transportation of this fuel, Bloomberg reports, writes UNN.
Details
According to sources familiar with the situation, at a meeting of EU ambassadors on Monday, where the bloc's latest sanctions package was presented, the two Southern European countries expressed concerns about the move.
They expressed fears that this change could affect the European shipping industry and energy prices, the sources said.
Both countries also requested clarification on proposals to sanction foreign ports for transshipping Russian oil and to tighten controls on ship sellers to reduce the number of vessels entering Moscow's fleet, the sources added.
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A Greek government official declined to comment. Nestor Laviera, a Maltese government spokesman in Brussels, said the country was "engaged in technical discussions to ensure that the end result is workable."
Last week, the European Commission, the EU's executive body, proposed replacing the price cap on Russian oil with a ban on services necessary for oil transportation.
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This proposal, which will affect insurance and transport companies, reflects the inability of the price cap to significantly reduce Moscow's oil revenues. It is a central element of the EU's 20th package of sanctions targeting Moscow for Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The adoption of this measure will be conditional on the support of the Group of Seven countries, which jointly introduced the price cap in late 2022.
According to sources, the US position on this change is unclear. The EU had previously imposed a ban on many services before the introduction of prices.
In addition, according to sources, the EU is considering lifting sanctions against two Chinese banks after receiving promises from Beijing regarding support for Russia's war against Ukraine.
The EU sanctioned two banks, Heihe Rural Commercial Bank and Heilongjiang Suifenhe Rural Commercial Bank, last August. The move prompted Beijing to take action against two small EU banks.
According to some sources, China remains Russia's main wartime helper, supplying Moscow with the bulk of critical materials needed for weapons production.
The latest package of EU measures includes proposals to sanction several companies in China and other countries that are alleged to be supplying key components for the Russian war machine. It also targets cryptocurrency operators and a small number of banks in Central Asia and Laos that the EU claims are helping Moscow circumvent the bloc's sanctions.
In addition, the EU has for the first time proposed to apply its anti-circumvention tool, which provides for a ban on the export of machine tools and certain radio equipment to Kyrgyzstan. However, Germany is concerned that this could affect bilateral relations with the country. One option is to introduce quotas based on pre-war trade data instead of a complete ban, the sources added.
A German government spokesman declined to comment, citing statements made on Monday. "We are confidentially coordinating these issues within the framework of European agreements within the framework of EU sanctions," Josef Hinterseher, a spokesman for the country's Foreign Ministry, told reporters.
The new sanctions proposal also includes export restrictions worth more than 360 million euros ($429 million) on goods such as rubber and chemicals, as well as import bans worth more than half a billion euros, including on a number of metals, and a quota on ammonia imports.
EU sanctions require the approval of all member states and may change before adoption. The bloc aims to finalize the package by the end of February.
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