Greece and Malta stood in the way of new EU oil sanctions against the Russian Federation – Bloomberg

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The Bloomberg agency, citing sources, reported that Greece and Malta have become the main obstacle in the way of the EU’s proposal to replace restrictions on the price of Russian oil with a ban on services necessary for the transportation of fuel.

Source: “European truth” with reference to Bloomberg

Details: According to the interlocutors of the agency, these two southern European countries expressed concern about this step at a meeting of EU ambassadors on Monday, where the latest package of sanctions against the Russian Federation was presented.

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They expressed fears that such a replacement could affect Europe’s shipping industry and energy prices, the sources said.

Both countries also asked for clarification on the proposed sanctions against foreign ports for the processing of Russian oil and increased supervision of ship sellers to reduce the number of vessels entering Moscow’s fleet, the sources added.

A representative of the Greek government declined to comment. Nestor Livera, the Maltese government’s representative in Brussels, said the country was “engaging in technical discussions to ensure that the end result can be implemented”.

Last week, the European Commission proposed to replace the current price ceiling on the sale of Russian oil with a ban on services necessary for its transportation.

This proposal is the central element of the 20th package of EU sanctions for the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation in Ukraine.

EU sanctions require the support of all member states for approval and may change before they are approved. The EU plans to complete work on a package of restrictive measures by the end of February.

We will remind:

• The publication by the European Commission of the contents of the 20th package of EU sanctions against Russia was somewhat delayed due to discussions surrounding a proposal to completely ban the provision of maritime services in EU ports to all vessels transporting Russian oil.
• It is known that France insisted that the 20th package of EU sanctions against the Russian Federation be “especially tough” with regard to the “shadow fleet”.

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