EU split Over Russia Oil Sanctions Amid Ukraine War

Yes, among the many things that have been considered today on the situation in Ukraine, some Member States have raised the issues related to energy. Today was not a day to make decisions – and therefore no decision has been made. But this and other possible measures have been the subject of analysis by the ministers.
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It is not about one country, or two countries, or three countries being for or against. At the same time, it is about achieving an effective response that does not imply an unaffordable cost for the Member States.

As I say, today was not a day to make decisions, but to analyze the possible actions that could be taken in the future. And, certainly, the issue of energy has been brought up by various Member States and there has been an interesting exchange of views and data on it.

"Today was not a day to take decisions in the area, so no decision was taken," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.

EU nations remained split Monday over banning Russian energy imports, as a top official from the bloc decried "a massive war crime" being carried out by Moscow in Ukrainian city Mariupol.
But foreign and defence ministers meeting in Brussels did give the green light to doubling a financial package for arms to Ukraine to 1 billion euros.

The EU and Western allies have unleashed a barrage of sanctions that have battered the Russian economy as they look to punish President Vladimir Putin for invading his neighbour.

Some members states, including the Baltic countries and Ireland, have pushed to hit Russia's key oil exports in a new round of sanctions.

But economic powerhouse Germany -- and other nations still reliant on Russian fossil fuels -- have been reluctant to target the key sectors.

"Today was not a day to take decisions in the area, so no decision was taken," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.

"What we need to do is ensure that we come with an effective response which won't lead to an unbearable cost for member states."

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said energy was an "obvious area where if we want these sanctions to bite we should be focusing".

"But it's not that straightforward, unfortunately and that's because a number of EU member states have a very significant reliance on Russian oil and gas."

He said the ministers had now effectively set the scene for EU leaders to progress with a decision at a summit later in the week.

The debate over a fresh round of sanctions comes as Russia presses on with its devastating attack on Ukrainian cities -- especially the port of Mariupol.

"What's happening now in Mariupol is a massive war crime, destroying everything, bombarding and killing everybody," Borrell said.

He also accused Russia of pushing as many Ukrainians as possible to flee the country, after more than 3 million have fled over the border towards the EU.

"I am convinced that Putin is using the refugees as a as a tool, as an arm, sending as much as they can," Borrell said.

"They haven't destroyed the transport infrastructure, they just destroyed the cities in order to terrify the civilians and make them escape."

In a bid to support Kyiv, the EU has turned arms provider to fund deliveries of weapons to help Ukrainian forces fights back against the Russian invaders.

Borrell said that ministers gave their political agreement Monday to adding an extra 500 million euros ($550 million) of funding to a package to finance arms for Ukraine.

The move -- which is expected to be formally signed off on later this week -- is part of a broad Western push to help Ukraine keep up its ferocious resistance.

[joey]

So the ones for oil like food and heat .