European Union member states have unanimously approved a fresh set of sanctions against Russia, specifically focusing on its profitable liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry for the first time.
This latest package, the 14th one implemented since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is designed to deprive Russia of additional energy revenues, as stated by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a recent post.
While the sanctions do not forbid EU countries from buying Russian LNG, they do prohibit the re-export of Russian gas through European waters to third-party nations.
Experts in the gas market believe that this ban will have minimal impact since Europe will continue to purchase Russian gas, and only a small portion of Russian LNG exports are trans-shipped through EU ports to Asia.
European ports play a crucial role for Russia, especially during the winter months when they serve as vital transit points for LNG exports from Arctic ports to Asian markets.
Ports like Zeebrugge in Belgium and Montoir in France are significant hubs for re-exports to countries like China, Taiwan, and Turkey.
Additional measures in the sanctions package are aimed at making it harder for Russia to use disguised vessels to circumvent EU sanctions on Russian crude oil.
The EU is also targeting Moscow’s SPFS bank messaging system, which Russia has been using to mitigate the impact of being excluded from the global SWIFT financial transfer system by Western countries.
🇪🇺 EU Ambassadors have just reached a consensus on a robust and comprehensive 14th set of sanctions in response to Russian aggression against Ukraine.
This package introduces new targeted measures and strengthens the effectiveness of existing sanctions by closing any existing loopholes.
— Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU 2024 (@EU2024BE) June 20, 2024
Watered down
On Thursday, Belgium, currently holding the EU presidency, characterized the sanctions as “robust and comprehensive.”
“This package introduces new targeted measures and strengthens the effectiveness of existing…
Source from www.aljazeera.com