EU is considering disconnecting 20 banks from SWIFT and lowering the oil price cap in the 18th package of sanctions against Russia – Bloomberg

The European Union is considering disconnecting more than 20 banks from SWIFT, the international payment system, as well as lowering the price ceiling on Russian oil and banning the Nord Stream gas pipelines as part of a new package of sanctions aimed at increasing pressure on Moscow to end the war against Ukraine, Bloomberg reports, UNN writes.

DetailsAccording to people familiar with the matter, the European Commission is consulting with member states of the bloc on these plans. A decision on the timing of potential restrictions has not yet been made, sources said.

The EU is also considering additional transaction bans for about two dozen banks and new trade restrictions worth about 2.5 billion euros, as it seeks to further limit Russia’s revenues and its ability to seize technologies needed to produce weapons.

As part of the package under discussion, the European Commission also plans to propose lowering the oil price ceiling for the G7 countries to about $45, sources said.

This step is likely to require support from the United States. The price ceiling, which prohibits G7 service providers from transporting and selling oil sold above the limit price, is currently set at $60. G7 finance ministers failed to reach an agreement to lower the price ceiling at a meeting in Banff, Canada, this week, the publication writes.

The discussions began against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump calling on Moscow and Kyiv to hold direct talks on a ceasefire and a peace agreement. Trump has so far refrained from imposing new sanctions on Russia, despite threatening to do so several times. Sanctions imposed under US President Joe Biden remain in effect.

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As the publication notes, it is important that the EU plan to impose sanctions on the Nord Stream gas pipelines already has Germany’s support. For German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said in Rome last week that he supports the European Commission’s proposal to “start work on European measures against the Nord Stream-2 pipelines,” the main hope is that sanctions may mitigate the debate at home about the resumption of projects, Bloomberg reported earlier.

Rumors about a possible resumption of the pipeline project have intensified, against the backdrop of Trump trying to mediate the establishment of peace between Russia and Ukraine. Even without an official ban, the activation of Nord Stream-2, which was built but never certified by Germany and partially damaged by explosions in 2022, is unlikely to take place in the near future, the publication writes.

The sanctions will add weight to Europe’s position, which does not want any significant return of Russian pipeline supplies, the publication writes. The ban will also protect Berlin from responding independently to any potential pressure from the US or Russia. In addition, the bloc plans to phase out Russian fossil fuels by the end of 2027.

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It is also indicated that the EU seeks to expand its sanctions against the “shadow fleet” of Russian oil tankers and is considering further restrictions on creditors who are believed to be helping Moscow’s war effort, as well as on the Russian Direct Investment Fund, sources said.

Sources added that the bloc also wants to include in its next package of sanctions (which will be the 18th for the EU since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022) provisions protecting European companies from arbitration under bilateral investment agreements.

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