EU approves new sanctions package against Russia

The Danish Presidency of the European Council announced that EU member states have reached a political agreement on the 19th package of sanctions against Russia . The statement read: "We are delighted to announce that we have just received notification from the sole remaining member state that it will withdraw its objection to the 19th package of sanctions. Following this, a written procedure for Council approval has been initiated. If no objections are received, the package will be adopted tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM."

Slovakia was the last country to reject the sanctions package after EU countries agreed on the final text last week. Before approving the package, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico had requested assurances from the European Commission regarding high energy prices and aligning climate targets with the needs of vehicle manufacturers and heavy industry. A Slovakian diplomat explained that his country's demands were met through the addition of new clauses to the final declaration of tomorrow's EU leaders' summit.

The ban on LNG imports from Russia under the sanctions will be implemented with short-term contracts expiring within six months, and long-term contracts expiring on January 1, 2027. This will put the LNG ban into effect at full capacity, a year before the EU's goal of completely ending its dependence on Russian fossil fuels.

The sanctions package includes a ban on LNG imports, new travel restrictions for Russian diplomats, and the blacklisting of 117 more ships within the Shadow Fleet, mostly tankers carrying oil for Russia. The new package will bring the total number of sanctioned ships to 558.