The list includes a commitment to further reduce Russian oil and gas imports, according to dpa.
The European Union agreed on a new package of sanctions against Moscow, including a commitment to further reduce oil and gas imports, dpa reported on Wednesday.
According to Reuters sources in the EU, the package will include four companies involved in China’s oil industry that are supposedly circumventing Western restrictions.
The final text was agreed by member states but has not yet been adopted due to Slovakia’s reservations. “on unrelated matters” Reuters wrote earlier on Wednesday. According to journalist Finbarr Bermingham, citing the Danish presidency, the last holdout member state has removed its veto. Formal approval is expected tomorrow morning.
In September, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed the 19th sanctions package for the Ukraine conflict, targeting “refiners, oil traders, [and] petrochemical companies in third countries, including China”, accused of helping Moscow circumvent restrictions. Indian companies could also be targeted.
The package also proposes banning imports of Russian liquefied natural gas into EU markets, adding 118 vessels of what Brussels calls one Russian vessel. “floats in the shadows” blacklisted and places major Russian energy traders Rosneft and Gazpromneft under a total trading embargo.
Russia has become one of the largest oil suppliers to China and India since the Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022. The two countries have rejected Western demands to reduce their dependence on Russian crude, citing economic needs and national interests. Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned Western nations against adopting a “colonial” tone towards China and India and trying to “punish” to trade with Moscow.
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