EU agrees new sanctions on Russia's oil and banks

The European Union has agreed to impose a new round of sanctions against Russia, targeting the country's energy and financial sectors, Report informs via Euronews.

The sanctions, endorsed on Friday by ambassadors in Brussels, ban transactions with 22 Russian banks, the Russian Direct Investment Fund and its subsidiaries, and the direct and indirect use of the underwater Nord Stream pipelines, which are currently closed off but which Moscow seeks to restart at some point in the future.

Additionally, the EU turns the price cap on Russian crude oil of $60 per barrel into a dynamic mechanism that will remain 15% lower than the average market price, according to diplomatic sources. The new cap will kick in at $47.6 per barrel.

The United States, a chief proponent of the cap at the G7 level during the previous administration, has not supported the downward revision.

Moreover, a further 105 vessels belonging to the "shadow fleet", the aged tankers that Moscow employs to bypass the price cap on crude oil, are denied access to the EU ports and EU services. This brings the "shadow fleet" blacklist to over 400 vessels.

The deal represents the 18th package of sanctions since February 2022.

The political breakthrough was only possible after Slovakia relented and lifted its veto, which had until now prevented the approval of the new sanctions.