European sanctions target Russian liquefied natural gas for the first time
The European Union has agreed to a new round of economic sanctions targeting Russian individuals and companies, the Belgian government said on Thursday, notably measures aimed at clamping down on Russian profits from the sale of liquefied natural gas to EU members.
Most EU countries stopped importing natural gas arriving by pipeline from Russia immediately after the large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. But the bloc had refrained from initiating formal sanctions on Russian gas imports, leading many EU countries to instead buy LNG from Russia, which arrives by ship.
The latest measure includes measures targeting the import of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) to other countries via EU ports, known as “transshipments,” a senior EU diplomat with knowledge of the deal said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the sanctions still need to be formally approved.
“This package provides new targeted measures and maximizes the impact of existing sanctions by closing loopholes,” said the Belgian government, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council of Europe. said on social media platform X.
Countries in the European Union imported 40 percent of their gas from Russia before the invasion, most of it arriving by land or underwater via pipelines. EU leaders banned oil and coal imports from Russia months after the invasion, but they have allowed gas imports, bowing to pressure from some countries, especially Hungary, which has strong ties to Moscow.
Pipeline imports have fallen significantly since 2022, but liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports, especially to Belgium, France and Spain, have increased. This makes the European Union the largest customer of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG). According to Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, Russia exported 41 to 45 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) annually between 2021 and 2023, about half of which ended up in Europe.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, welcomed the agreementwhich also includes measures targeting financial messaging services and restrictions on the export of goods and technologies that could be used for civilian or military products, in an effort to prevent them from reaching Russia through intermediate countries.
The European Union has been scrambling to prevent such goods from passing through countries not involved in the sanctions, allowing them to reach Russia.
“This hard-hitting package will further deny Russia access to key technologies,” Ms von der Leyen said. “It will further deprive Russia of energy revenues. And it will tackle Putin’s shadow fleet and shadow banking network abroad.”
The latest measures were agreed by EU ambassadors after weeks of wrangling as countries sought to protect their own national interests. The rules are expected to come into effect next week.
Overall, these measures will add an additional 100 Russian individuals and entities to the list of individuals targeted by European sanctions. This brings the total number to 2,200, European diplomats said.
Matina Stevis-Gridneff contributed to the reporting.
