Europe is divided on the sanctions on Russian gas, but France remains confident in the possibility of reaching an agreement at 27. President Macron has made no secret of his agreement in extending the sanctions to the energy sector and now “we will see which it will be the position of the other states, I think it is possible to have unity among the 27. We are ready to strengthen sanctions, oil and coal are a possibility “explained Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire before the Ecofin meeting. Le Maire then added: “When deciding on sanctions, unity is fundamental because the effectiveness of sanctions is directly linked to this.”
On the other hand, “the discussion” on an embargo on Russian oil and coal “is underway, as far as the European Commission is concerned it is an option, but we must reach a consensus among the member states” said the vice president of the EU Commission. , Valdis Dombrovskis explaining that the discussion on the new measures against Moscow concerns “the area of energy, such as coal and oil, further sanctions on the commercial side and also new sanctions. It is important to present a strong and credible package in light of the atrocities that we see the Russian army committing in Ukraine ».
Austria is more cautious. According to the Minister of Finance, Magnus Brunnes to whom we must “be careful with the sanctions and think calmly about what the consequences are for us and if we are hit harder than Russia, we must use common sense and we are trying to bring it into the discussion” . The minister then added that a coal embargo against Russia “cannot be ruled out” but it is necessary to go “step by step” and under the scrutiny of European finance ministers today there is “a tightening especially in the area of exports and imports, for example on cement ».
Also because, as Le Maire himself later observed, “inflation in Europe is energy. And therefore it is imperative that we coordinate our economic policies to respond to the return of inflation in Europe. We want a targeted and coordinated day-to-day response between the Member States ”. “.” Inflation creates great concern in Europe: it weighs on life
During the meeting of EU finance ministers, Ukrainian finance minister Serhiy Marchenko will link up with Luxembourg.