EU Tightens Sanctions on Russia Targeting Energy and Finance Sectors

The European Commission has introduced its 18th sanctions package against Russia, aimed at curtailing Moscow's energy earnings and penalizing sectors including banks and military industry. Measures include sanctioning Nord Stream transactions, additional banking bans, oil price cap reductions, and further restrictions on vessels tied to Russia's shadow fleet.

The European Commission has stepped up its efforts against Russia with a newly proposed 18th sanctions package, aimed squarely at undermining Moscow's revenue streams from energy, as well as targeting banks and its military industry, announced European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday.

This new package includes a proposal to ban transactions with Russia's Nord Stream gas pipelines, penalize banks involved in circumventing existing sanctions, and extend banking restrictions from just the removal from SWIFT to a full transaction ban. Moreover, it includes tightening measures on the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and lowering the G7 price cap on Russian crude oil to $45 a barrel.

Von der Leyen mentioned that these changes are set to be deliberated at a forthcoming G7 leaders meeting in Canada. Additional proposals include adding over 400 vessels to the list of Russia's shadow fleet and banning products refined from Russian oil, aiming to prevent Russian crude from entering the EU market undetected.

(With inputs from agencies.)