Ten EU member states, including the Czech Republic, have called on the European Union to impose a complete ban on gas imports from Russia, including liquefied natural gas (LNG), according to reports from the Reuters news agency yesterday.
The 16th package of sanctions against Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine is now under debate within the EU-27, and could include a ban on LNG imports, according to CTK sources.
The European Commission has not yet come up with any proposal for the next package, but this is expected in the next few days to have enough time to debate the sanctions. The 16th package should then be approved at the end of February, on the third anniversary of the start of the Russian invasion.
Poland, a major ally of Kyiv, now holds the EU presidency, and the new EU sanctions package is therefore expected to be very tough towards Moscow.
The document demanding a complete ban on Russian gas imports was signed by the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Sweden. According to CTK sources, the ban now has the support of about a half of EU member states.
The document states that the ultimate goal should be a ban on Russian gas and LNG imports as soon as possible.
The 14th package of EU sanctions, which was approved last June, already included a ban on the transhipment of Russian LNG, but the European Commission has so far stopped short of a complete ban, as there are some EU countries that are still buying large amounts, such as Belgium, France and Spain.
The 15th sanctions package, approved last December, was mainly aimed at the “shadow fleet” of foreign vessels carrying Russian oil products.
