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The Belgian government announced on Thursday that the European Union has agreed to a new set of economic sanctions against Russian individuals and companies, notably including measures aimed at squeezing Russian profits from liquefied natural gas sales to EU member states.
Immediately after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, most EU countries halted imports of pipelined natural gas from Russia. However, the EU has refrained from imposing formal sanctions on Russian natural gas imports, and many EU countries are instead purchasing ship-borne LNG from Russia.
The latest measures include those targeting Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) imported through EU ports on its way to other countries, said a senior EU diplomat familiar with the agreement, speaking on condition of anonymity because the sanctions still require formal approval.
“This package maximizes the effectiveness of existing sanctions by providing new targeted measures and closing loopholes,” the Belgian government, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council of Europe, said on social media platform X.
Before the invasion, European Union countries imported 40 percent of their natural gas from Russia, most of it transported overland or by undersea pipeline. EU leaders banned Russian oil and coal imports a few months after the invasion, but bowed to pressure from some countries, such as Hungary, which has strong ties to Russia, and natural gas imports have continued.
Pipeline imports have fallen significantly since 2022, but LNG imports are increasing, especially to Belgium, France and Spain, making the European Union the largest buyer of Russian LNG. According to the Columbia University Center on Global Energy Policy, Russia is expected to export 41-45 billion cubic meters of LNG per year from 2021 to 2023, about half of which will arrive in Europe.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, welcomed the agreement, which also includes measures targeted at financial messaging services and restrictions on the export of goods and technology with civilian or military uses in an effort to prevent them from passing through intermediate countries to Russia.
The European Union is trying to stop such goods from passing through sanctions-free countries to Russia.
“This strong package will further deny Russia access to key technologies,” von der Leyen said. “It will further deprive Russia of its energy revenues. And it will have to deal with Putin’s shadow fleet and his overseas shadow banking network.”
The latest measures were agreed by EU ambassadors after weeks of wrangling as countries scrambled to protect their interests, and the rules are expected to come into force as early as next week.
European diplomats said the move would add 100 more Russian individuals and entities to the European sanctions list, bringing the total to 2,200.
Matina Stevis Gridneff Reporting from Brussels.
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