EU approves new Russia sanctions with lower oil price cap
The package aims to lower the G7's price cap for buying Russian crude oil to $47.6 per barrel, diplomats told Reuters.
"The EU just approved one of its strongest sanctions packages against Russia to date," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on X.
We are standing firm.
The EU just approved one of its strongest sanctions package against Russia to date.
We're cutting the Kremlin's war budget further, going after 105 more shadow fleet ships, their enablers, and limiting Russian banks' access to funding. (1/3) — Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) July 18, 2025
"We will keep raising the costs, so stopping the aggression becomes the only path forward for Moscow."
G7 price cap ineffective so far
Yet Russia has so far managed to sell most of its oil above the previous price cap as the current mechanism makes it unclear who must police its implementation, and traders doubt the new EU sanctions will significantly disrupt Russian oil trade.
The package also has a ban on transactions related to Russia's Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea and on Russia's financial sector.
Kallas said the sanctions also targeted 105 ships in Russia's "shadow fleet", the term used by Western officials for ships that Moscow uses to circumvent oil sanctions, and "Chinese banks that enable sanctions evasion".
She did not name the banks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the decision "essential and timely" as Russia intensifies its air war on Ukrainian cities and villages.
And Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said: "Depriving Russia of its oil revenues is critical for putting an end to its aggression."
The Group of Seven Western economic powers have tried to impose a price cap on purchases of Russian oil price since December 2022.
It aims to ban trade in Russian crude bought at a higher price by prohibiting shipping, insurance and re-insurance companies from handling tankers carrying such crude.
US declines to back Europe on price cap
The European Union and Britain have been pushing to lower the cap for the last two months after a fall in oil futures made the current level of $60 a barrel largely irrelevant.
But the United States has resisted, leaving the EU to move forward on its own, but without real power to enforce the measure, analysts and oil traders say.
As the dollar dominates global oil transactions, and US financial institutions play the central role in clearing payments, the EU has no means to block trades by denying access to dollar clearing.
Agreement on the new EU package was held up for weeks as Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico demanded concessions on a separate plan to phase out EU dependence on Russian oil and gas.
Fico announced on Thursday night that he was ending his opposition.
Countries such as Greece, Cyprus and Malta had expressed concerns about the effect of the oil price cap on their shipping industries. But Malta, the last of the trio to hold out, also came on board on Thursday.
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The Irish Sun
2 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
How country on Putin's doorstep is preparing for invasion… with a forest barricade, hidden army & miles of dragon teeth
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Insiders have been Just this week, officials in Lithuania said Russia is ramping up GPS jamming operations against the country - with pilots reporting more than 1,000 disruptions in June. Advertisement Read more on Lithuania It marks a massive increase - with 585 incidents recorded in May and 447 in April. And security chiefs have identified the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad as the source of the "interference". In the face of evil, Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania's former Foreign Minister, said his country is continuing to push back against enemy forces. Lithuania is already in the top five Nato members who spend the most on defence each year. Advertisement Most read in The Sun The government has also managed to make a deal with Germany to Lithuanians are also pushing for the creation of a blockade with Belarus - in case Putin launches a cross-border invasion. Zelensky warns Putin eyeing FIVE other European countries for invasion if he isn't stopped dead in Ukraine Landsbergis told The Sun: "There is a push to think about defence lines on the border. "I would like to see wherever possible new forests being seeded to plant trees. Advertisement "We still have a lot of open space which could be used by tanks to roll over. "I would like to see actual defence lines being built with mines, ditches, infrastructure, such as dragon teeth. "We are taking this really seriously and it shows to the enemy that we are taking the threat seriously." As a former MP in Lithuania, Landsbergis is well aware of the threat that Russia poses. Advertisement Should Putin chose to invade a Nato member then he would likely choose Lithuania, many insiders believe. 15 Lithuanian Army soldiers take part military exercise near the Polish border Credit: AP 15 Gabrielius Landsbergis, former Foreign Minister of Lithuania, speaks to journalists at the Nato foreign ministers' meeting in 2021 Credit: AFP 15 Putin has a very strong relationship with Belarus' leader Alexander Lukashenko Credit: AP Advertisement 15 This is due to its small size - but also the long border it shares with two regions under heavy Russian protection. Vilmantas Vitkauskas, a former security adviser to the Lithuanian government, believes the enclave of Kaliningrad is "the main target for the Russians". Another reason for Russia to view Lithuania as an easy target is due to their small army. Advertisement Lithuania has less than 15,000 active personal in their ranks - and their equipment is also among the most outdated in Europe. A bloodthirsty tyrant like Putin may fancy his chances at pulling off a successful invasion. Meet Lithuania's 'Iron Wolf' troops "WE are ready to fight Russia until the last man, Vladimir Putin's war has a long shadow over the Baltic states - and many people fear if Russia isn't stopped in Ukraine, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia could be next for Vlad. Lithuanian troops and armoured vehicles were on exercise in the bone-chilling cold of the frozen forests of the Pabrade training area. Our reporter was embedded with them as they carried out the war games drills just 10 miles from There is a danger of feeling removed from the war in the UK, but for the people of the Baltics the conflict is essentially knocking at their front door. Troops hunkered down in foxholes and crawled along the snow-covered ground as they prepared for the possibility they could one day have to fight to defend their homes. Read more about the drills But Lithuania is fighting back against the threat. They have agreed to a major deal which would bolster their numbers and Advertisement By 2027, Germany will send across an entire, highly-skilled combat unit to be stationed around Vilnius. This will prompt Putin to rethink any invasion plans, Landsbergis believes. He added: 'The Russians will have to take into consideration that they would be attacking, not just Lithuanian troops, but German troops now.' Germany pose a much greater threat to Moscow due to their huge and advanced army. Advertisement 15 Poland already has a giant metal border wall with Belarus with those in Lithuania calling for a similar blockade Credit: AP 15 An abandoned fence sits in a forest near the Suwalki Gap area - a land corridor on the shared border between Lithuania, Poland and Russia Credit: Reuters 15 Despite having less than 15,000 active troops, Lithuania's army are confident they can repel a Russian attack Credit: Ian Whittaker And any form of attack on German troops will provoke a response from Berlin far greater than Russia has felt before. Advertisement Vitkauskas and Landsbergis believe more nations within Nato should follow Germany to bolster fellow allies who sit in striking distance. Maintaining strength as a country - and as a united block with other states in Nato and across the world - is vital to keep Russia at bay, Vitkauskas said. He added: "The question is how strong are we as country? "And it's not just Lithuania, any country around us or or even further in different continents." Advertisement PUTIN'S TWISTED PLOTS It's feared a Russian attack could "spark at any moment" - especially with Putin already wreaking havoc across Europe, experts warn. Since the invasion of Ukraine, nations on the Baltic Sea have faced damage to undersea power cables, arson and cyberattacks. A number of attacks on the continent have been attributed to Putin - including a Putin also has a history of facing accusations saying he is being major cyber attacks which strike critical enemy infrastructure. Advertisement Estonian military chief Martin Harem previously warned how the tyrant uses 15 Volodymyr Zelensky has warned Putin won't stop at just invading Ukraine if he isn't stopped by Nato Credit: AFP 15 Lithuanian Emergency Ministry employees work at the site where a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near Vilnius Credit: AP Vitkauskas believes the despot thrives of "uncertainty by causing chaos within the public", so leaders must always be "vigilant" and "prepared". Advertisement To counter the threat, Lithuania is putting "a lot of effort" into protecting their energy and electricity supplies - but also, internet networks and broadband . This critical infrastructure will be the first to be struck if Russian forces launch an assault so must be a priority, Vitkauskas cautioned. "When we talk about the Russian threat, we understand there is an intent and there is capability," Vitkauskas said. "We've seen what's happening around Europe, what's happening in our country and we know the capability is there. Advertisement "There are very clear examples the Russians have decided to wage operations in our country. "The main effort from the Russian special services is to raise some doubts. It's very strategic. But I'm sure it will not succeed." Timeline of Russian sabotage attacks across Europe SINCE the war in Ukraine it is believed the Russians have launched a wave of sabotage attacks across Europe. Oslo, Norway, June 29, 2022 - Cyberattack renders government websites unusable for 24 hours Riga, Latvia, February 27, 2024 - Arson attack on'Museum of the Occuption' London, UK, March 20, 2024 - Wagner-group linked arson attack at warehouse Wroclaw, Poland, April 18, 2024 - Plot to assassinate Zelensky foiled Warsaw, Poland, April 13, 2024 - Warsaw shopping centre torched by suspected Russian agent Berlin, Germany, May 3, 2024 - Cyberattacks on German politicians and companies Prague, Czechia, May 3, 2024 - Mass cyber attacks on government and infrastructure Vilnius, Lithuania, May, 9, 2024 - Arson attack on Ikea - targeted as store was same colour as Ukrainian flag Paris, France, June 7, 2024 - Russian accused of planning plot to plant bomb at D-day celebration Dusseldorf, Germany, July 12 , 2024 - Western intelligence reveal plot to assassinate German arms boss Birmingham, UK, July 22, 2024 - Russia suspected of planting device at DHL depot Warsaw, November 8, 2024 - Prosecutors reveal Russian parcel bomb plot across Europe Vilnius, Lithuania, November 25, 2024 - DHL cargo plane crashes after suspected Russian package bomb Baltic Sea, December 25, 2024 - Estlink-2 cable cut by ship anchor - one of many cable cutting attacks linked to Russia Landsbergis fears the Kremlin may already be plotting how to launch an invasion through the use of cyber warfare. He says one possible scenario could involve them causing a train travelling from Moscow to Kaliningrad via Lithuania to break down. Advertisement Putin could then say he is obliged to send his men to help the Russian citizens trapped on board. These border agents and police officers would also need to be accompanied by Russian troops due to them entering a hostile environment. Landsbergis believes it could then "all escalate in a matter of hours". Serious panic for both Lithuanian officials and Nato would soon set in once Putin's men enter through Belarus. Advertisement Landsbergis speculated: "Maybe we're just overreacting right? It's a normal civilian rescue situation. "Just help Russians with whatever you can, don't shoot, don't escalate. Take it slow and maintain a cool head. "But then the next thing you know we lose at least partially the control of all of our territory." 15 Landsbergis says one possible attack could involve Russia causing a train travelling from Moscow to Kaliningrad via Lithuania to break down Credit: Ian Whittaker Advertisement 15 Nato soldiers take part in a welcoming ceremony for alliance troops arriving at the Rukla base in Rukla, Lithuania Credit: EPA
RTÉ News
2 hours ago
- RTÉ News
At least three people killed as Russia, Ukraine exchange strikes
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RTÉ News
3 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Hopes of EU-US trade deal ahead of August deadline
It was Ursula von der Leyen's late afternoon social media post that confirmed a deal is on. All the hard work has been done by trade negotiators. But US President Donald Trump likes to seal the deal himself with a high-level figure - that is why his own press office likes to call him "the closer". Of course it is not done till it is done. But there is no way Ms von der Leyen is getting on a plane tomorrow morning in hope: there is a deal to be sealed - though she will probably have to sweeten it a little in the end to get the closer to close. During the week he personally closed deals with the prime ministers of Indonesia and the Philippines (Ferdinand Marcos Junior) and with Japan's senior trade negotiator (Prime Minister Ishiba's LDP party had lost its parliamentary majority in elections last Sunday, and he is expected to resign). Taoiseach Micheál Martin is hopeful the deal can be signed - though he says it will be an outline deal, leaving much detail to be filled in later. But it should give some certainty to businesses to enable them to get on with planning. (The US President will meet UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to "flesh out" the outline deal he made with the British in May - the headline in that is a 10% tariff on British imports to the US). Mr Trump was certainly talking up prospects of an EU deal as he left the White House yesterday. "I would say that we have a 50:50 chance of making a deal with the EU, and it will be a deal where they have to buy down their tariffs, because they are right now at 30% and they'll have to buy them down maybe, or they could leave them the way they are," Mr Trump said. "But they want to make a deal very badly. I would have said we have a 25% chance with Japan. And they kept coming back, and we made a deal. "The biggest part of the Japan deal, and maybe we get this with the EU, maybe we don't, is that we have the right to go in and trade. We have the right - they've totally opened Japan to the US," he added. Note the phrase "buy down their tariffs". What is Europe offering the US that Mr Trump thinks is worth reducing the tariff rate from 30% to 15%? Big purchase agreement on energy expected Part of the deal is expected to be a big purchase agreement on energy. The day after the Presidential election last November, Ms von der Leyen offered to negotiate a massive gas contract with America, knowing that Mr Trump was coming gunning for the EU on trade. That deal, she said, could more or less close the annual trade gap between the EU and US. And besides a new gas supplier was needed, after Russia put itself beyond the pale by invading Ukraine. This will be Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), which is why the Irish Government has stamped on the accelerator of getting a long talked about LNG terminal built in Limerick. The gas plays into Mr Trump's campaign rhetoric of "drill baby drill" and energy dominance. But there will be many more elements, as even a deal to supply 450 million Europeans with gas will not be big enough. Mr Trump complains a lot about market access, particularly in relation to cars and food. In general the EU market is very open to US products and services. Look around your own home, shops, businesses - what American stuff do you not have? (genuine, made in USA stuff, not made in China with US marketing hype). Mr Trump is wrong about the car market being closed to US producers - Ford dominates the light commercial market on both sides of the Atlantic, while in left-hand drive mainland Europe, pretty much any American car is available to consumers - if they can afford the running costs. It is not the huge bulk of the vehicles that is the chief problem (though it is a problem): it is the huge cost of feeding the massive and inefficient engines they use. On food, there is a bigger problem, and it is the extra chemicals and hormones that go into the US food chain that are banned in Europe (a ban strongly supported by consumers). Mr Trump's own Health Secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr frequently mentions the thousand food ingredients that are banned in Europe but allowed in the US as a bad thing - for the US consumer and the health of the nation. His mission statement is MAHA - Make America Healthy Again, and he is trying to ban or force the discontinuance of these additives. Europe does have a quota for US beef - but only if it has been grown without artificial growth hormones. Chicken is washed in chlorine in the US, to kill off health threatening bacteria. The practice is banned in Europe, but the EU has a higher rate of food poisoning from chicken. In trade talks in 2012, Eurocrats said they had an alternative method that would satisfy both EU and US health norms, but those talks went nowhere. Critics of the US use of chlorine washing say it covers up lower animal welfare standards. None of this is likely to feature in talks in Scotland. But yesterday there was an unexpected development when Australia announced it would take imports of US beef. It has been quite a closed, protected market - but producers there also doubted the US could supply much beef to Australia anyway, as its own beef industry, they claimed, could not satisfy local demand for beef and needed to import. But Irish and French farmers will be wary of any agricultural sweeteners in this deal. Defence is another element in the trade balance between the EU and US. The EU defence commissioner Andrius Kubilius spent a few days in the US, setting out some big numbers that have sprung out of another "Trump Win" - getting European NATO to raise its defence spending to 5% of GDP. This consists of 3.5% of GDP going on "real" defence spending, and 1.5% going on enabling infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, railways, communications satellites and other things that can be called "military mobility". About 40% of the EU's defence equipment spending goes on US made products. In cash terms that figure has risen sharply in the past three years as the EU supplies weapons systems and "consumables" to Ukraine. With the big increase in European NATO spending, and the EU's own €150 billion defence loans scheme (applications close on Tuesday), there is an awful lot of money sloshing around, and inevitably a big chunk of it is going to go to American industries, particularly in the highest end of high tech defence. According to Mr Kubilius, EU states are going to spend around €2.2 trillion on defence equipment over the next seven years of the EU "Financial Framework" budget cycle. If America gets 40% of that, then it could be looking at the thick end of a trillion bucks. It is hard to see more concessions here, especially as the French and some others have argued that if the Europeans are going to spend these kinds of colossal sums, they should spend as much as possible on developing home industries, not acting as employment support for the Americans. Trump planning regime of pharmaceutical tariffs As for pharmaceuticals, that seems likely to be left out of this outline deal, at least for the moment. Mr Trump is planning a special regime of pharmaceutical tariffs - medicines have not been tariffed by tradition - in order to force the relocation of manufacturing for the US market back to the US. That is a more complex business, as "patent cliff" effects come into play, as well as investment decisions. It seems the US plans on this one are not yet ready for rollout. That will be the big one hanging over the Irish after tomorrow's outline deal (if it is done), because of what we might call the 'Reverse-Leprechaun' economic effects of a sudden disappearance of a large lump of GDP, and with it associated corporation tax returns. Ireland's trade in goods surplus with the US is about $80 billion, according to the Americans - it vies with Germany for the biggest trade surplus of any EU state, a position it has been driven to almost entirely by the pharmaceutical industry in Ireland, which is mostly US owned. According to US trade statistics, Ireland has the fourth or fifth biggest trade surplus of any country doing business with the US: only Vietnam, Mexico and China have bigger surpluses. And China's trade surplus is only three times bigger than Ireland's. So the Emerald Isle does stick out on the charts - worldwide as well as European. And most of that is because of the strange world of pharmaceutical manufacturing, internal pricing and tax regime arbitrage that US pharma companies are so good at. On landing in Scotland, Mr Trump was asked what areas are outstanding to be negotiated with the EU. He said about twenty areas, but said he was not going to list them off. It felt like a deflection, not an answer. Trump says US-EU agreement would be 'biggest of them all' The uncertainty of the past six months has been paralysing for many investment decisions on both sides of the Atlantic. And that is important, because as Mr Trump said yesterday evening, getting an agreement with the EU would be "the biggest of them all". Because the EU-US trade in goods, services and investment is by far the biggest and most important in the world. The US President has decided to charge an entry fee to the US market. He believes - correctly - that the market is so valuable to outsiders that they will pay more to do business here. The art of this particular deal is finding out the realistic limits of bearable pain. For Japan it was 15% - down from the 25% they were told to expect. Once that news broke on Tuesday night, it was the tipping point for the EU, which had been hoping for a 10% tariff, but had been told 15% would be more like it. It is pretty much what the EU has been charged for the past three months - a 10% general baseline tariff on top of the 4.8% pre-existing average tariff rate on EU goods coming into the US. The impacts of that have yet to play out. And if the 'closer' and his visitor from Brussels cannot close the deal tomorrow? The US is set to impose a 30% tariff rate on the EU on 1 August. But according to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, talks on a final deal would continue, and the rate could still come down. But the 30% would act as a spur to the talks. The EU also made moves to show it was reaching the end of the rope as far as talks with the US are concerned. On Thursday, member state governments approved a retaliatory package on $70 billion of US exports, on top of an earlier $23 billion of tariffs on US steel and aluminium products. A third package of levies on US services exports has also been floated in the Brussels ether. The EU tariffs on $90 billion of US imports will go into effect on 7 August - if there is no deal this weekend. Mr Trump is one of those people who always has to feel he has gotten one over whoever he is doing a deal with; the sort who always tries to chip a little extra in the end. Ms von der Leyen ought to be prepared to give a little sweetener. Will it be in some aspect of trade or taxation, or will it be old fashioned cash?. Last Tuesday, Mr Trump spent 75 minutes talking in person with Japan's trade envoy Ryosei Akazawa, screwing an extra $150 billion out of the Japanese for an investment fund that the US government will direct. It helped to "buy" them a tariff cut, according to US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who claimed credit for the idea of the "tariff buy down". Market access will affect trade deal with Japan, says Lutnick Mr Lutnick said in an interview for Bloomberg that market access was always going to be a big issue in any trade deal with Japan. He did not see the Japanese opening their market to the extent the US wanted, so looked for another way. His solution was a fund of $400 billion, which the Japanese would put at the disposal of the US. Mr Trump, the 'closer', bumped that up to $550 billion before he said "deal" and shook hands. So what is this $550 billion for? It is not an investment by Japanese companies, according to Mr Lutnick. He told Bloomberg on Wednesday the Japanese will be bankers, supplying the money to pay for American projects. The Japanese cut will be 10% of the profits: "The Japanese are going to give America the ability to choose the projects, decide the projects and execute the projects. Suppose we want to build a generic antibiotics plant - America doesn't make antibiotics anymore - the Japanese will finance the project and we will give it to an operator, and the profits will be split 90% to the United States, and ten percent to the Japanese," he said. "So the Japanese have basically brought down their tariff rate due to this commitment that 'we will back what you Mr President want to build in America that are key to national security concerns, we will back that'," he added. He said the money can be equity, loans or loan guarantees. "They are the banker, not the operator - this is not a Japanese company like Toyota coming in and building a factory - this is America saying we want generic pharmaceuticals, microchips etc". Mr Lutnick - who claims to talk to Mr Trump daily at 1am by phone - said he came up with the idea in January to get the equivalent of market access for the US and a tariff rate at which the Japanese car makers - who account for the vast bulk of Japan's trade surplus with the US, can live with. "15% is right on the line where they can still build cars in Japan - huge amounts here as well - but $550 billion bought that," he said. "For the Europeans it is 25%, for South Korea it is 25% - the Japanese have bought 15% by giving Donald Trump the means to invest. We'll see what happens in the EU and South Korea talks, but let's be clear: Donald Trump has put pressure on them," he added. Peter Navarro, a senior trade advisor in the Trump administration and ideologue of a hard line on foreigners, especially China, said of the $550 billion : "its a blank cheque to invest in America: it's going to used to cure our supply chain vulnerabilities - this is really important: we've seen in the pandemic we were exposed on pharmaceuticals, we have a chip problem with too many of the chips made offshore: we've seen Chinese export restrictions on gallium, rare earth magnets, critical minerals. "Howard Lutnick is going to be the symphony orchestra guy on this - we are going to figure out every vulnerability we have in our economy with the help of the Japanese," he added. Medical devises may be excluded from tariffs The EU is of course the home of the car, specifically Germany where the internal combustion engine was invented. A deal on cars is huge for Germany as well. So is a deal on spirits - especially for the Irish whiskey industry and French and Italian liquor makers. Medical devices are another really important area for Ireland that may be excluded altogether from tariffs, according to some of the chatter reported late last week. For the Irish Government, which has become so dependent on corporation tax revenues - far more than is the case in most countries - the potential hit to revenues from Mr Trump's tariffs are what causes it sleepless nights. But it is not just tariffs that are making life more difficult for Irish and European exporters to the US. The dollar has weakened against the Euro since Mr Trump took power, making foreign imports more expensive for Americans to buy. The tariff comes on top of that. On leaving the White House yesterday, Mr Trump extolled the virtues of a weaker dollar. "The weak dollar makes you a hell of a lot more money. So when we have a strong dollar, one thing happens, it sounds good, but you don't do any tourism. "You can't sell factories, you can't sell trucks, you can't sell anything. It is good for inflation, that's about it. And we have no inflation. We've wiped out inflation. So when I see it (the dollar) down there, I don't lose sleep over it, put it that way," he added. As for other countries, Mr Trump said "We have the outlines of a deal with China" (Mr Bessent is meeting his opposite number in Stockholm on Monday and Tuesday for more trade talks). But he did not hold out much hope for Canada, the US' number three trade partner: "We haven't really had a lot of luck with Canada. I think Canada could be one where they'll just pay tariffs, not really a negotiation." Next Friday is the closing deadline for this round of tariff related deals, as far as the US President is concerned. He plans to send letters out to close to 200 countries over the next week "I'm not looking to hurt countries", he said yesterday morning. "I could - I could do that too, but I'm not looking to do that. But when that letter goes out, that's a deal. "Now, we sent one to Japan, we sent one to the EU, and they came back and negotiated a deal. I think the EU has got a pretty good chance of making a deal," he added.
