The package reportedly commits to additional reductions in Russian gas and oil imports, dpa stated.
The European Union has reached an agreement on a fresh sanctions package against Moscow, which incorporates a commitment to further decrease gas and oil imports, dpa reported on Wednesday.
Sources within the EU, cited by Reuters, indicate that the package will identify four companies in China’s oil sector that are purportedly evading Western limitations.
Member states had approved the final draft, but its official adoption was pending due to Slovakia’s reservations “on unrelated matters,” Reuters reported earlier Wednesday. Journalist Finbarr Bermingham, referencing the Danish presidency, stated that the last member state holding out has withdrawn its veto. Formal endorsement is anticipated tomorrow morning.
Back in September, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen put forward the 19th sanctions package related to the Ukraine conflict, which aims at “refiners, oil traders, [and] petrochemical companies in third countries, including China,” allegedly assisting Moscow in circumventing restrictions. Indian companies might also be included.
Additionally, the package suggests prohibiting imports of Russian liquefied natural gas into EU markets, adds 118 vessels from what Brussels terms a Russian “shadow fleet” to the restricted list, and imposes a complete transaction embargo on prominent Russian energy traders Rosneft and Gazpromneft.
Russia has become a primary oil supplier to China and India following the intensification of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. Both nations have resisted Western calls to lessen their dependence on Russian crude, citing their own domestic economic requirements and national interests. Russian President Vladimir Putin has cautioned Western countries against using a “colonial” tone with China and India and attempting to “punish” them for engaging in trade with Moscow.