Europe 1 with AFP 09:11, May 04, 2022
The European Commission has proposed a phased EU embargo on oil and petroleum products purchased from Russia, in retaliation for the war in Ukraine, its president, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Wednesday.
The European Commission has proposed a phased EU embargo on oil and petroleum products purchased from Russia, in retaliation for the war in Ukraine, its president, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Wednesday.
"We will gradually give up Russian deliveries of crude oil within six months and those of refined products by the end of the year", she explained to MEPs in Strasbourg, presenting a sixth package of sanctions against Moscow to cut off funding for its war effort against Ukraine.
Exclusion of the Russian bank Swift
Brussels is also proposing to exclude three additional Russian banks, including the country's largest institution Sberbank, from the Swift international financial system as part of a new sanctions package, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
By hitting "banks of essential systemic importance for the Russian financial system", this will reinforce its "total isolation" and will reduce Moscow's ability to finance its war in Ukraine, she told the European Parliament.
So far, seven Russian institutions have been deprived of access to Swift, a secure messaging platform allowing crucial operations such as funds transfer orders between banks.