With the Russian-Ukrainian war continuing unabated, Brussels is preparing to impose its twelfth package of sanctions on Moscow in order to put as much pressure as possible on it. It seems that the new round of European sanctions will directly hit the – profitable – Russian diamond and gemstone export sector.
At the same time, this package of sanctions will include new stringent mechanisms to ensure that EU member states – and all economic entities operating within the EU – enforce both the new and pre-existing sanctions, as Brussels has identified several ways through which Russia is circumventing the restrictions imposed.
However, contrary to initial reports, the twelfth package of sanctions will not focus on the energy sector, as no consensus has been reached – at this stage – on the imposition of a lower ceiling on the cost per barrel of oil, but also on a ban on the import of Russian LNG.
Brussels has ensured that the EU has almost complete self-sufficiency in stored LNG already in the summer, being able to get through the winter without needing a large number of Russian imports.
On the other hand, the decoupling of EU Member States from Russian LNG seems to be achieved faster than expected, as the latest qualitative data show that one fifth of Russian gas imports are re-exported to third countries. According to the European Commission’s plan, the EU will be fully decoupled from Russian LNG imports by 2027.
The Greek Government intends to turn Greece into a key energy hub in the wider Eastern Mediterranean region, investing heavily – inter alia – in the construction of LNG storage and gasification terminals, which will supply the Balkans and Continental Europe.
Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, recently travelled to the city of Alexandroupoli – where Greece’s biggest LNG terminal port is currently under construction – and re-affirmed his administration’s commitment to invest heavily in this sector, as well as to become a regional energy powerhouse.
If the Greek government succeeds, then Greece will indeed see its energy footprint grow to substantially, while its wide diplomatic and economic influence will increase to unprecedented levels.
In any case, however drastic the sanctions against the Russian energy sector may be, the reality of the market makes sanctions against Russian oil limited by default, as there is no way to prohibit its use within the EU.
This is because although EU Member States import Russian oil based on the maximum price imposed by the Commission, the fact that states such as Turkey and China buy Russian oil at any cost and almost exclusively, converting it into other critical products – such as kerosene – which they then trade with the EU.
