EU Targets Russian Banks, Energy With New Sanctions
Welcome to the Brussels Edition, Bloomberg's daily briefing on what matters most in the heart of the European Union.
The EU is promising more pain for Russia's economy with its 18th package of sanctions, focused on banking and energy, which it hopes will help bring the Kremlin to the negotiating table over its war in Ukraine. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc is ramping up pressure because 'strength is the only language that Russia will understand.' The aims, as we reported previously: a ban on the Nord Stream pipelines, cutting more banks from the SWIFT international payments system, listing additional vessels from Moscow's so-called shadow fleet, further export controls relating to drones, and pushing down the price cap on Russian oil to $45 from $60 per barrel. The latter faces a make-or-break moment at the G-7 summit in Canada starting later this week, with the EU seeking US buy-in for the measure. A ban on petroleum-product imports made from Russian crude oil would have far-reaching consequences for fuel markets.
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