“We have to discuss how we can support Ukraine even further, politically, economically, with humanitarian aid, security wise, everything is on the table. So we can ensure that we will do what we can to stop Putin and his aggression against Ukraine,” Denmark’s Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod told reporters. “It’s important with economic sanctions to continue along that track.”
“I think it is unavoidable to start talking about the energy sector. And we definitely can talk about oil, because it is the biggest revenue to the Russian budget,” Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said as he arrived in Brussels for a meeting with his EU counterparts.
Other EU states support the idea of hitting Russia’s most valuable asset with sanctions.
“Looking at the extent of the destruction in Ukraine right now, it’s very hard — in my view — to make the case that we shouldn’t be moving into the energy sector, particularly oil and coal, in terms of interrupting normal trade in that space,” said Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney.
The European Union currently depends on Russia for about 40% of its natural gas. Russia also supplies about 27% of oil imports, and 46% of coal imports.
What will Germany do?
There’s also a risk that Russia could retaliate by restricting exports of natural gas. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said this month that Moscow could cut off the supply of gas to Germany via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline as retribution for Berlin blocking the new Nord Stream 2 pipeline project.
Still, political opinion may be hardening in Europe as Russia steps up its attacks on Ukraine’s cities, killing hundreds of civilians and forcing millions to flee their homes.
Much will come down to countries like Germany, Russia’s biggest energy customer in Europe, as well as others that buy a lot of its gas, such as Hungary and Italy.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the country was “working at full speed” to end its dependence on Russia but, like some other EU countries, couldn’t stop buying Russian oil from one day to the next.
“If we could we would do it automatically,” she said.
Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia have already banned imports of Russian oil, affecting roughly 13% of Russia’s exports. And moves by major oil companies and global banks to stop dealing with Moscow following the invasion are forcing Russia to offer its crude at a huge discount.
The Paris-based IEA, which monitors energy supplies for the world’s leading developed economies, said Russian output could drop by 3 million barrels per day.
“The implications of a potential loss of Russian oil exports to global markets cannot be understated,” the IEA said in its monthly report.
