By Julia Payne
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -EU countries approved a 19th package of sanctions against Russia for its war against Ukraine that includes a ban on Russian liquefied natural gas imports, the Danish rotating presidency of the EU said on Wednesday.
“We are very pleased to announce that we have just been notified by the remaining member state that it’s now able to lift its reservation on the 19th sanctions package,” it said.
Slovakia was the final holdout after EU countries agreed on the final text last week. Slovakia’s Prime Minister Fico wanted assurances from the European Commission on high energy prices and aligning climate targets with the needs of carmakers and heavy industry. A Slovak diplomat said the country’s demands were met in new clauses added to the final communique for the EU leaders summit on Thursday.
“Consequently, a written procedure for Council approval has been launched. If no objections are received, the package will be adopted tomorrow by 8 am,” it added.
The LNG ban will take effect in two stages: short-term contracts will end after six months and long-term contracts from January 1, 2027. The full ban comes a year earlier than the Commission’s proposed roadmap to end the bloc’s reliance on Russian fossil fuels.
The new package also adds new travel restrictions on Russian diplomats and lists 117 more vessels from Moscow’s shadow fleet, mostly tankers, bringing the total to 558. The listings include banks in Kazakhstan and Belarus, the presidency said.
EU diplomatic sources told Reuters that four entities linked to China’s oil industry will be listed but the names will not be made public until the official adoption on Thursday. These include two oil refineries, a trading company and an entity which helps in the circumvention in oil and other sectors.
(Reporting by Julia Payne; Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten, editing by Deepa Babington)
