“As expected for a while, we can confirm that the commission has adopted a new package of sanctions against Russia, the 19th”. After the last measure adopted only in July, Brussels has speeded up the times to hit the country that has been carrying out a bloody war in Ukraine for over three years, adopting a new package of sanctions. This was announced by the EU executive spokesman, Paula Pinho, opening the daily briefing with the press, in which he specified that more details will come from the president of the Ursula von der Leyen Commission and from the UE EU representative for foreign affairs, Kaja Kallas. “The time has come to close the gas taps from Russia,” said Von der Leyen by presenting the new package of sanctions against Moscow.
Brussels aims to anticipate the ban on the import of Russian energy
The EU is evaluating to anticipate the ban on imports of liquefied natural gas (GNL) from Russia, as part of the 19th package of sanctions. The decision would have been partly solicited by the pressure exerted by the US president Donald Trump, so that Brussels contributes more consistently to the end of the war in Ukraine.
The European Commission will propose to set the entry into force of the ban on 1 January 2027, compared to the original deadline of 2028. The package of sanctions must then be approved by all EU governments. In addition to the GNL, the new restrictions should hit the so -called Russian “Russian Flatte”, the cryptocurrency sector, Russian banks and Central Asia, Chinese refineries and economic areas used by Moscow to import dual use goods intended for military industry. “The main energy trade companies Rosneft and Gazprom Neft will now be subject to a total ban on transactions and other companies will also be subjected to the freezing of goods. We are now hitting those who feed the war of Russia by purchasing oil in violation of the sanctions. Having said the leader of the Commission, asking the 27 member countries to quickly approve the new sanctions. The measure seems to respond to Trump’s criticisms, which for weeks has been asking for greater Brussels intervention on Beijing.
Trump pushes the EU to impose 100% rates on China and India for the purchase of Russian oil
“The proceeds deriving from the sale of energy keep Russia’s war alive. We are therefore hunting for these revenue by designating 118 new ships such as shadow and facilitators and prohibiting the reinsurance of the blacklist ships. Our goal is to accelerate the gradual elimination of the Russian liquefied natural gas by January 1, 2027,” said Kallas.
Eight European countries still import energy from Russia
The anticipation of the prohibition on natural gas imports could force some European countries to compensate for any LNG deficiencies by purchasing gas from the United States, thus increasing energy dependence from Washington in a period in which the USA use commercial rates as a foreign policy tool. According to Eurostat, the Russian quota in the European imports of GNL fell to 14 percent in the second quarter of 2025, compared to 22 percent in the first quarter of 2021. Eight member countries of the European Union are still imported Russian gas. This is based on the latest information in possession of the European Commission. These are Belgium, Holland, France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Slovakia and Hungary. To these three countries it comes through the Turkstream gas pipeline. This was explained by the spokesman for the European Executive for Energy, Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, Sanza give information on the entry volumes and specifying that Brussels does not have “official information on where this gas is directed” once you enter the EU.
The “concerns” of the ECB for Russian assets
Waiting to know the details, the president of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde has not hidden his doubts about the European Commission proposal to use Russian assets immobilized to finance a “repair loan” to Ukraine. In the press conference at the end of the Eurogroup meeting he repeatedly asked for “cards” to better evaluate the proposal. He even came to ask the Commissioner to the Economy, Valdis Dombrovskis, author of the proposal. “I think it is important, as Commissioner Dombrovskis said, that it is not a seizure, of a confiscation, from what we understand, but the replacement of a credit in liquidity with a credit in Eurobond: is it correct?”, He asked for Lagarde.
Asked, the European Commissioner did not clearly respond to the application, but from the advances that actually emerged the commission plan would seem to “convert” about 170 billion euros of the Russian assets – deposited at Euroclear – in Eurobond to be allocated to Ukraine as a zero -rate loan, to be repaid only once Russia has paid repairs. Hence the synthesis of Lagarde: convert the liquidity – which are the real estate arrived at maturation – in Eurobond of which Russia will still be the owner.
