European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said the latest package of sanctions seeks to ban Russian coal imports, impose sanctions on four Russian banks and ban Russian ships from European Union ports, among other measures. The proposal will be discussed by EU ambassadors on Wednesday. “These atrocities cannot and will not go unanswered,” said von der Leyen. “It’s important to keep up the pressure [Russian President Vladimir] “Putin and the Russian government are at this critical juncture.” The package does not meet the requirements for an embargo on Russian oil or gas and is unlikely to silence calls for the EU to do more. “To prevent the ‘new Bukha’, impose the mother of all sanctions: stop buying oil, gas and coal from Russia,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. “Stop funding Putin’s war machine.” This is the first EU move to block Russian energy imports since the invasion. The reason why the commission proposed coal, not oil or gas, “is probably because it is the easiest to replace,” said Simone Tagliapietra, a senior fellow at Bruegel, a Brussels-based think tank. The EU is already pushing for phasing out coal to meet its climate change goals. By 2020, the bloc imported just under 20 percent of its coal from Russia, compared to about 35 percent for oil and 40 percent for gas, according to the EU statistical office. “The EU imports about 15 million euros a day from Russia [$16.38 million] coal, about EUR 400 million [$436.84 million] gas and EUR 450 million [$491.44 million] of oil “, said Taliapitra. “The coal ban is not going to hurt Russia.” Von der Leyen suggested on Tuesday that oil could be next, but did not offer a specific plan or timetable. “We are working on additional sanctions, including oil imports,” he said. The commission said Tuesday that banning coal imports from Russia would cost the country $ 4 billion a year, cutting “another major source of revenue for Russia.” Some countries may push for a softening of the plan, however, preferring the phasing out of Russian coal. The Boutsa massacre tests Europe’s red lines in Russian energy In addition to targeting carbon, the package aims to “weaken Russia’s financial system” by cutting off four banks and imposing export bans on items such as quantum computers and advanced semiconductors to “continue to degrade the technological base and industrial capacity.” of Russia “, a statement. The Commission proposal also seeks to prevent most Russian ships and cargo from the EU from “drastically limiting the options for Russian industry to acquire basic goods”. There will also be additional sanctions on individuals, although they have not yet been named. Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine, the EU has worked with the United States and others to strike at Russia with sanctions aimed at isolating Moscow and weakening the war effort. Although the next round of sanctions has been under way for some time, reports of possible war crimes have prompted the EU to take action, starting with coal. “We are proposing further sanctions today to further cripple Putin’s war machine after the atrocities committed by the Russian armed forces in Bukha and other Russian-occupied areas in Ukraine,” said Joseph Borrell, a top EU diplomat. The EU is united in its rage over the apparent Russian atrocities in Ukraine, but is deeply divided over what to do next, especially when it comes to energy. Ukraine and some EU leaders have urged the bloc to impose a full embargo, but major EU economies have backed down, arguing that the cost to Europe would be too high. The horrific images by Bouha increased the pressure for action. French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that indications of “war crimes” in Ukraine justify new sanctions. The Elysée Palace later said France would support an embargo on Russian oil and coal – not gas. Neither Germany nor Austria wants a gas embargo. Austrian Finance Minister Magnus Bruner said on Monday that the EU should “keep calm” despite the actions in Bucha. Sanctions, he said, “should not affect us more than Russia.” “That is why, together with Germany, we are very hesitant about the gas embargo,” he said. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said the Commission’s latest proposal “is not in fact an appropriate package of sanctions for the massacres that are revealed”. “A weak response is simply a call for more atrocities,” he wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. “It could and should be stronger.” correction An earlier version of this article mistyped Simone Tagliapietra’s name. The article has been corrected.
