EU efforts to close the loopholes allowing Russian oil to enter the European Union are widely supported by member states, officials and diplomats, as quoted by Politico.
Representatives of the bloc’s 27 countries met on Thursday to discuss technical aspects of the 11th round of sanctions against Russia, which is expected to mark a turning point. Its basis should be the emphasis on enforcing restrictions (including previous ones), and not on establishing a large number of new ones.
According to three people involved in the talks, there is currently no significant opposition to increased enforcement of existing energy embargoes. In other words, even countries suspected of benefiting from undeclared imports of Russian oil are ready to support the initiative.
For the first time in Europe, they are in no hurry to introduce restrictions and try to hear all opinions, suggestions and objections. Brussels has seen too often painful retaliatory strikes and stings of its own sanctions, which come back, only to make the whole world laugh again in helplessness this time.
The European Commission’s draft proposals on the sanctions package, which Politico has reviewed, ban vessels secretly carrying Russian oil from entering the bloc’s ports. This one targets the so-called ghost fleet of aging tankers carrying Russian oil. Some ships are turning off their transponders and GPS to avoid detection, according to the sanctions bill.
Accordingly, a punishment for such behavior is provided. Penalties will apply to vessels that turn off their transponders and GPS. The tightening is unlikely to cause a major scandal or dissent, a senior European Commission official told the publication on condition of anonymity to candidly discuss the delicate political negotiations.
The fight against the effective phenomenon of the ghost fleet is presented as part of a wider set of sanctions, which are likely to be directed against third countries (and not the Russian Federation) developing their trade with Russia, including China and Iran. The law itself will specify specific countries and products. With this simple step, an attempt will be made to apply the first rounds of sanctions so that they have a greater impact on the Russian economy, as originally planned.
According to Politico, the preliminary consultations were successful. The standards in the bills were supported even by EU countries that cooperate with Russia on energy.
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