EU eyes oil price cap, further restrictions on high-tech exports amid new Russia sanctions – sources

EU flags fly outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, April 10, 2019. REUTERS/Yves Herman

BRUSSELS, Sept 22 (Reuters) – The European Union is looking at rising oil prices, a tougher ban on technology exports to Russia and more sanctions on individuals, diplomats said on Thursday in what the West condemned as a new escalation. Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

The 27-member European Union announced its support for a partial denuclearization of the war and a plan to effectively annex parts of eastern Ukraine in President Vladimir Putin’s nuclear speech on Wednesday. Read more

EU foreign ministers agreed to draw up new sanctions against Russia at an ad hoc meeting on the sidelines of UN talks in New York, which the bloc’s top diplomat said would include “economic and personal” measures.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, head of the EU executive, said they would include “additional export controls on civil technology.”

Three EU diplomats in Brussels said the new sanctions would focus on oil prices to match those agreed by the G7 of the world’s most industrialized powers – the EU’s France, Germany and Italy also sit in on it.

“We also fully expect more individual details,” said one of the diplomats, who asked not to be named.

The increased man’s oil cap is due to take effect from December, while the EU’s ban on Russian coal, strict export restrictions on high-tech products, are aimed at curbing Russia’s battlefield capabilities.

More restrictions on luxury goods sent to Russia were on the table. Union Russia hawks such as Poland and the Baltic states have called for a ban on Russian diamond imports and moves to seize Russian assets embargoed by Europe.

Others, however, warn that the latter is unlikely to gain the support of all EU countries necessary to impose sanctions.

EU economic powerhouse Germany has so far resisted tougher economic restrictions, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán – who has close ties to Putin – said on Thursday that all sanctions should be lifted. Read more

“I don’t know how quickly we will agree on new sanctions,” one EU official said, adding that opposition to additional sanctions against Moscow by some member states could delay the deal.

The EU Commission is expected to present a written proposal next week, which the 27 EU national leaders will likely approve when they meet in Prague on October 6-7, the sources said.

Writing by Gabriela Baczynska; Edited by Kirsten Donovan

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