EU commission, council align on ban of 90% of Russian oil

• EU proposes ban on Russian oil in new round of sanctions 
• New EU sanctions against Russia to include port ban
• UK closes ports to Russian vessels; EU resolution calls for broader ban
• EU to double-down on renewables and hydrogen, diversify to rid itself of Russian gas
• Russia sanctions: why shipping companies are likelier targets than oil and gas
• New UK sanctions hit Sovcomflot, Gazprombank
• Sanctions, SWIFT ban threaten Russian LNG sector

Announcing the EU’s proposed sanctions against Russia in early May 2022, President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc will "phase out Russian supply of crude oil within six months and refined products by the end of the year."

The EU’s proposed measures were outlined in a speech for the European Parliament, published on the Commission’s website.

In the speech, President von der Leyen outlined four points in the EU’s sixth round of sanctions against Russia in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ongoing attack on Ukraine.

"We are addressing our dependency on Russian oil. Let us be clear: it will not be easy. Some member states are strongly dependent on Russian oil. But we simply have to work on it. We now propose a ban on Russian oil," President von der Leyen said.

"This will be a complete import ban on all Russian oil, seaborne and pipeline, crude and refined. We will make sure we phase out Russian oil in an orderly fashion, in a way that allows us and our partners to secure alternative supply routes and minimises the impact on global markets."

The UK announced a ban on Russia-linked vessels coming into its ports in early March but was slow in setting out clear directions on how to implement the ban, pushing responsibility on to port authorities to identify and refuse vessels even when highly complex ownership structures can make isolating ties to Russian interests difficult.

The European Commission has proposed a draft plan to make Europe independent of Russian fossil fuels “well before 2030,” starting with gas, in light of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The draft plan was announced in early March on the same day the US committed to a total embargo on Russian energy and the UK announced a phase-out of Russian oil and gas to be complete by the end of 2022.

Both US and UK imports of Russian energy supplies make up a far smaller percentage than those taken by the EU.

Riviera Maritime Media will provide free technical and operational webinars in 2022. Sign up to attend on our events page