The European Commission has put forward its 19th round of sanctions on Russia for EU member states to approve, after a one-week delay due to pressure from the United States to impose tougher sanctions.
"We can confirm that the commission has taken on board a new package of sanctions against Russia, the 19th package," European Commission Chief Spokesperson Paula Pinho said in a press conference in Brussels on Friday.
The new sanctions will target "Russian banks, crypto assets, and energy imports," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted from social media website X on Tuesday after a call with US President Donald Trump.
With about 19 percent of Europe's gas continuing to arrive from Russia via the TurkStream pipeline and liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries, the EU is said to be mulling moving forward a ban on Russian LNG as part of the new sanctions.
In the previous weekend, Trump called on European allies to suspend any other Russian oil imports and even suggested G7 and NATO member countries impose tariffs on nations that enable Russia's energy exports, arguing such actions are being taken to undermine Russia's economy, reports Xinhua news agency.
The commission "will also suggest accelerating the Russian fossil fuel import phase-out," von der Leyen wrote on X. The phase-out of Russian fossil fuels is currently due to finish by January 1, 2028.
The new sanctions package was originally supposed to be tabled before member states last Friday, but coordination efforts, including a visit by a high-level EU team to Washington, pushed it back by a week. EU officials explained that the measures will be rolled out gradually to avoid energy price shocks or supply shortages in the bloc.
The EU has been urged by former Munich Security Conference Chairman Christoph Heusgen to push Hungary and Slovakia to cut their reliance on Russian energy. According to him, Hungary continues to import around 60 percent of its oil from Russia, whereas Slovakia depends on Russia for approximately 75 percent of its energy.
Ukraine has pushed for swift adoption of the 19th sanctions package. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated on X earlier this week that “coordinated steps across the Atlantic” are essential to deprive Russia of resources for the conflict. “Now the focus must be on making the 19th package even tougher,” he added.
While downplaying the anticipated effect of the sanctions, Russia has maintained that threats from Brussels and Washington "have no effect and will not change anything." On Friday, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova made the statement during a press briefing. She was also critical of the EU's efforts to give up Russian energy as being "suicidal sabotage" and cautioned that Brussels is running itself dry.
Since the outbreak of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in 2022, the EU has imposed 18 packages of sanctions on Russia, focusing on finance, technology, and energy.
The 19th package will put the bloc's ability to hold together under mounting US pressure for quicker and more extensive action to the test, analysts argue.
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