Poland, Lithuania and Estonia have long called for a tougher approach to sanctions against Moscow. Support from EU national governments is needed to approve the change.
A group of three countries of the European Union called in March to reduce the upper limit of prices for Russian oil. We are talking about Poland, Lithuania and Estonia. Bloomberg writes about it.
Countries are reportedly proposing to further undermine the funding of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military machine. The group proposed that the ceiling, previously set at $60 per barrel, be lowered to $51.45. According to sources of the publication, this is 5% below market prices.
The publication writes that representatives of 27 EU member states should start discussing this topic on March 15. Recall that the ceiling on oil prices from the Russian Federation was introduced by the G7 countries and the European Union at the end of 2022.
The material said that Poland, Lithuania and Estonia have long called for a tougher approach to sanctions against Moscow. Similar demands were left unheeded in last year’s talks as the US wanted the ceiling to be set at a level that would allow Russian oil to continue to flow to world markets.
The three countries reportedly need support from EU national governments to approve the change. At the same time, “hot” negotiations are still ahead.
The journalists also noted that the European Union agreed to review the price ceiling for Russian crude oil every two months. However, the United States and its allies chose to keep the threshold at $60 per barrel. According to Washington, the mechanism is already working.
According to experts, the price ceiling should limit Moscow’s income for waging war in Ukraine, but ensure the flow of Russian oil to the world market.
Back in early March, CNN reported that a secret fleet of 600 tankers was transporting Russian oil around the world. Journalists have found out that the Kremlin uses front companies from Dubai and Hong Kong. Tankers are bought in Europe, or they use old ones that would otherwise go for recycling.
It was also reported that Germany hardly imports Russian oil. According to the results of January this year, Germany received 3,500 tons of Russian oil. In January 2022, imports were still at 2.8 million tons. Imports from the Asian country have practically stopped.
