The Twenty-Seven close to a joint decision to cap Russian oil prices
The 27 member countries of the European Union (EU) were close to finalizing an agreement on Thursday evening to impose a ceiling of 60 dollars per barrel on the price of Russian oil sold to third countries, in addition to their embargo which is coming into effect. force Monday, according to diplomatic sources.
The mechanism provides for the prohibition of maritime transport services (freight, insurance, etc.) for Russian oil beyond the ceiling, in order to limit the revenue derived by Moscow from its deliveries to countries which do not impose an embargo, such as China or India. A way to reduce the resources that allow Russia to finance its war in Ukraine.
The European Commission has proposed a basic ceiling of 60 dollars, with a limit of 5% below market prices, if the latter were to fall below this threshold, according to concordant diplomatic sources. On Thursday, the proposal had a broad consensus among the member states: all that was missing was Poland’s agreement at the end of the followingnoon to approve the mechanism, they said.
The EU has already decided to ban the Twenty-Seven from buying Russian oil by sea from 5 December. This embargo will eliminate two-thirds of European purchases of Russian oil. With Germany and Poland having decided on their own to stop deliveries via a pipeline by the end of the year, Russian imports will be affected by more than 90%, say the Europeans.
Since the start of the war, Russia has earned 67 billion euros in revenue from its oil sales to the EU, while its annual military budget amounts to around 60 billion a year, underlines Phuc-Vinh Nguyen, expert in energy issues at the Jacques-Delors Institute.
