The EU tightens on the sixth package of sanctions against Russia for the war in Ukraine. President Ursula von der Leyen presented the Commission’s proposal on an oil embargo to be completed in a period of 6 to 8 months to the plenary of the European Parliament this morning.
“Putin must pay a high price for his brutal aggression, the future of the European Union is also written in Ukraine”. Two key points of the president’s speech: sanctions and reconstruction. Regarding the sanctions, the president announced the ban on broadcasting by Russian television stations in Europe, the exclusion from Swift of another important institution, Sberbank, “by far the largest bank in Russia”, the stop to advisory services in Moscow: «The Kremlin relies on accountants, consultants and spin-doctors from Europe. And this will stop now. We are banning the provision of these services to Russian companies ”.
But above all von der Leyen confirmed the most awaited sanction, the stop on oil. “We propose a ban on Russian oil, a total ban on the import of all Russian oil, by sea and pipeline, crude and refined. We will ensure that we phase out oil in an orderly fashion so that we and our partners can ensure alternative supply routes and minimize the impact on global markets. This is why we will phase out Russian crude oil within six months and refined products by the end of the year ”.
“We want Kiev to win,” added von der Leyen, who then moved on to the reconstruction chapter. “Ukraine’s GDP should drop from 30% to 50% this year alone,” she explained. “And the International Monetary Fund estimates that from May onwards Ukraine will need 5 billion euros a month to keep the country running, pay pensions, salaries and basic services.” “We have to support them, but we can’t do it alone. I welcome that the United States has announced massive budget support. And we too, as Team Europe, will do our part ”, added the president. «Europe has a very special responsibility towards Ukraine: with our support, Ukrainians can rebuild their country for the next generation. This will bring the stability and certainty needed to make Ukraine an attractive destination for foreign direct investment, and pave the way for Ukraine’s future within the European Union. ‘