Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Getty Images LUXEMBOURG – The European Commission will propose a ban on Russian coal as part of a new round of sanctions against the Kremlin for its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Two EU officials, who did not want to be named because of the sensitivity of the talks, told CNBC on Tuesday that the EU executive would propose to include coal in the sanctions. Imposing sanctions on Russia’s energy sector has been a challenge for the EU given the high level of dependence of some Member States on the country’s energy supply. According to the European Statistics Office, the EU imported 19.3% of its coal from Russia in 2020. It imported 36.5% of its oil from the country the same year and 41.1% of its natural gas. . However, growing evidence of war crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine has prompted the Commission to propose the addition of coal to the fifth round of sanctions against Moscow. The new set of measures will be discussed by European ambassadors on Wednesday. The final approval of the sanctions will take place only after the talks and the proposals could be changed before the ambassadors meet. There has been growing pressure in Europe to target Russia’s energy sector, especially as energy-importing countries continue to replenish President Vladimir Putin’s daily coffers with oil and gas revenues. However, the issue is divisive in the EU, with some nations backing a ban on Russian energy imports, while others say such a move would hurt their own economies more than Russia. French President Emmanuel Macron, for example, said Monday that the bloc should proceed with sanctions against Russian oil and coal in the wake of reports of atrocities in cities near the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. However, Germany seems less convinced that such a move is possible, especially when it comes to gas supplies. “We want to be, [in the] “In the short term, it will be less dependent on Russian energy imports into the European Union, and Germany will support further sanctions on Russia,” German Finance Minister Christian Lindner told CNBC in Luxembourg on Monday. “We have to put more pressure on Putin and we have to isolate Russia – we have to cut all economic ties with Russia, but at the moment it is not possible to reduce gas supplies.”
