The European Union on Friday formally approved a fifth round of sanctions against Russia over the invasion of Ukraine, which has reached the sensitive energy sector for the first time. In this new step, he banned coal imports and targeted higher-profile individuals and banks.

But these penalties are harder to agree than in previous rounds, and a few important exceptions changed some steps. That suggested the EU had reached its disease limit, even as news emerged of a new attack that left dozens of civilians dead at a train station in eastern Ukraine.

Russia’s coal ban, a $ 4.4 billion measure, would take effect immediately for new contracts, but at Berlin’s insistence, the old contracts would be given four months to terminate, weakening the blow for both Russia and Germany.

And an ambitious proposal from the European Commission, the bloc’s executive branch, to ban all ships operating for Russian companies from EU ports it is diluted which will only affect Russian-flagged ships, which represent approximately one-third of the 3,500 ships operating in Russia.

The proposal includes vessels that left the Russian flag after the invasion of Ukraine on February 24 and registered in new countries, but would not affect the large number of vessels operating for Russian companies and flying flags of low -tax countries. a popular global shipping practice.

Greece, Cyprus and Malta, which are major shipping destinations, argued that it would be too heavy an administrative burden to determine whether ships were operated by Russia unless they actually flew the country’s flag.

The trials

The complications suggest major challenges to Russia’s oil and gas ban in the future, a major request of Ukrainian leaders and a move supported by the United States and a growing number of European institutions.

Some countries in the European Union are highly dependent on Russia’s oil and, moreover, on gas imports, and prevent cutting of supplies suddenly.

“We gave Ukraine almost a billion euros. It may seem like a lot, but we (Vladimir) Putin pay a billion euros every day for the energy he gives us,” said the bloc’s top diplomat Josep Borrell, in a speech to the European Parliament on Wednesday. .

“Since the beginning of the war, we have given 35 billion euros, compared to the 1 billion euros we gave to Ukraine to arm itself,” he declared.

Government officials in Moscow said on Thursday that Russia has so far withstood the sanctions well.

“The authors of that approach believe that the sanctions will destroy our economy in a few days,” said Mikhail Mishustin, Russia’s prime minister. “His scenario was not fulfilled,” he stressed.

And Dmitri Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, told reporters on Friday that there was a lot of demand for Russian coal.

“Obviously, coal is still a very popular product,” he said. “While Europeans ban it, coal flows will be redirected to alternative markets,” he said.

Source: The New York Times