EU Breaks Deadlock on Russian Sanctions but Defers Maritime Services Ban
The European Council broke weeks of deadlock, in part after the election loss for Hungarian President Victor Orban, and adopted its 20th sanction package on Russia along with a massive loan to Ukraine. Leaders highlighted that it is the biggest package adopted in two years, but it took weeks of political wrangling to get the package approved.
“Today we finally broke the deadlock,” said Kaja Kallas, who speaks for the Council on Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and chairs the Foreign Affairs Council. “The EU will provide Ukraine with what it needs to hold its ground while we inhibit those enabling Russia’s illegal aggression.”
They asserted that the package will further cripple Russia’s economy. It includes 120 individual listings ranging from more elements of the maritime sector to energy revenues, industrial segments of the economy, trade and financial services, including crypto.
One key sticking point was a load to Ukraine. The final measures adopted included a €90 billion ($105.5 billion) loan to support Ukraine.
The other key point that, however, failed to proceed was a proposed wider ban on maritime services. The EU is seeking to further rein in support for the energy transport industry. It adopted some measures but stopped short of maritime services. It said, however, that the groundwork had been laid. The next step will be coordination and discussion with the G7 and Price Cap Coalition before moving forward with the efforts to ban maritime services on Russian crude oil and gas.
The package, however, adds 46 vessels to the sanctions, establishing port access bans and denying the provision of a broad range of services. With these latest additions, the EU has now designated a total of 632 vessels.
It is also targeting non-EU tankers in the efforts to further curtail the shadow fleet. It is also targeting vessels used for transporting military equipment and grain taken from the occupied section of Ukraine.
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The new measures also introduce mandatory due diligence checks for the sale of tankers. The goal is to make it more difficult for legitimate tankers to be acquired for operations in the shadow fleet. The package also extends the bans on providing maintenance and other services to Russian LNG carriers and icebreakers.
A ban was introduced on transactions with the Russian ports of Murmansk and Tuapse and the Indonesian oil terminal at the port of Karimum. The EU contends they are used to circumvent the price cap. Also starting in January 2027, it will be illegal to provide LNG terminal services to Russian entities.
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