Poland, Lithuania and Estonia have long called for a tougher approach to sanctions against Moscow. Support from EU national governments is required for the amendment to be approved.
A group of three member states of the European Union called for lowering the cap on Russian oil prices in March. We are talking about Poland, Lithuania and Estonia. Bloomberg writes about it.
The countries are reportedly proposing to further undermine the financing of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military machine. The group suggested lowering the ceiling, previously set at $60 per barrel, to $51.45. According to broadcast sources, this is 5% below market prices.
The publication writes that representatives of the 27 EU member states should start discussing this issue on March 15. Recall that the upper limit 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 Poland, Lithuania and Estonia have long called for a tougher approach to sanctions against Moscow. Similar requests were not taken into account in last year’s talks, as the US wanted the ceiling to be set to a level that would allow Russian oil to continue flowing into world markets.
The three countries reportedly need the support of EU national governments to approve the change. At the same time, “hot” negotiations are still going on.
Journalists also noted that the European Union has agreed to review the ceiling price of Russian crude oil every two months. But the US and its allies chose to keep the threshold at $60 per barrel. The mechanism is already working, according to Washington.
According to experts, the price ceiling should limit Moscow’s revenue from fighting in Ukraine, but should ensure the flow of Russian oil to the world market.
In early March, CNN reported that a secret fleet of 600 tankers was transporting Russian oil around the world. Journalists learned that the Kremlin is using front companies in Dubai and Hong Kong. Tankers are bought in Europe or use old ones that would otherwise go for recycling.
It is also reported that Germany almost never imports Russian oil. According to the results of January this year, Germany bought 3,500 tons of Russian oil. In January 2022, imports were still at 2.8 million tons. Imports from the Asian country have actually stopped.
Source: Focus
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