Oil Price Ceiling and Defense Strike: What Sanctions Prepare EU for
The new sanctions were proposed by the President of the European Commission Ursula von Der Lien after the direct threats of the Kremlin's head Vladimir Putin to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine and to start mobilization in Russia. After long negotiations and meetings, according to Politico, the ambassadors of the EU countries have managed to agree on the most important point within the framework of new sanctions: limiting prices for Russian oil.
In addition, it is suggested that such countries as Malta, Greece and Cyprus will make concessions within new sanctions against the Russian Federation. The fact is that the fleet of these countries is involved in transportation of Russian oil. Meanwhile, according to Reuters, Russian oil prices will not apply to pipeline supplies. This was stated by Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Siyarto, who most actively criticized the EU sanctions against Russia.
Hungary uses a pipeline to import oil from Russia and fears that after limiting prices for black gold, Russia will refuse to sell its energy. "We managed to achieve that the ceiling of oil prices will not extend to the pipeline transportation of crude oil (so we buy raw oil, which is needed for our energy security), and in the event of an emergency, it does not apply to marine transportation that replaces it," - The country's Foreign Minister wrote on his social network on his Facebook page.
In addition, Financial Times writes that Saudi Arabia and Russia want to announce an unplanned reduction in oil production to deploy price dynamics. The cost of the barrel fell from about $ 120 in June to $ 91. 5 as of early July.
Meanwhile, the office of the President of Ukraine has already stated that in the 8 package of sanctions are still expecting Russian banks from the SWIFT system (in particular, Gazprombank), the prohibition on entry into the Russian ports of European courts and the prohibition of entry for Russian citizens.
"That is, the abolition of the possibility of entry for the majority, if not all categories of Russian citizens in the EU," - said the deputy head of VP Igor Zhovkva during a briefing on Tuesday, October 4. It should be noted that all these restrictions should be supported by 27 European Union countries. All the details of the eighth sanctions package against Russia have been approved by the EU ambassadors, so it is expected that restrictions will be officially announced on October 6, 2022.
This was reported on Twitter by Radio Liberty correspondent Ricard Josvyak. "The EU ambassadors have approved all the details of the sanctions package against Russia and launched the so -called written procedure, which will end tomorrow at 10:00. So the publication in the EU's official journal tomorrow," the journalist said.
The European Commission (EC) has also responded to the reconciliation of a new package of restrictions on the Russian Federation, stating, in particular, that they will continue to support Ukraine. "The European Commission welcomes the consent of the Member States on the 8th Package of Sanctions. We will never accept fictitious Putin referendums and any annexation of the territories of Ukraine. We are determined to continue to force the Kremlin to pay," the EC press service reports.
Earlier, Focus wrote that in the United States offered a plan of restriction of oil prices from the Russian Federation. However, the price at which the sale of Russian oil will be restricted is not yet determined. It was also reported that the European Commission (EC) has developed 2 options for limiting the price of Russian gas. In the first embodiment, it is proposed to limit the price for all European countries.
But there is also the second option by which the European Union will be divided into red and green areas based on current gas reserves and disruptions with the supply of blue fuel. The focus also understood how sanctions against the Russian Federation would undermine the military potential of the enemy. The opinions of the experts surveyed were divided.
"There is a lot of money in the Russian Federation, so sanctions look more as a means of additional pressure on the aggressor, not as a tool for depriving him of his physical ability to fight," - says Dmitry Gorununov, a senior economist at the Center for Economic Strategy (CES). Gennady Ryabtsev, director of special projects of NTC "Psyche", suggests that the effect of sanctions concerning the oil and gas sector will be not earlier than the second half of 2023.