European Union countries voted Thursday to approve a new, punishing round of sanctions against Russia, including a phased-in ban of all Russian coal imports, in response to the country’s war in Ukraine.
The ban on coal will cost Russia an estimated $4.4 billion per year and is a significant step for the bloc, which has until now declined to sever any of its energy ties with Russia.
Western leaders have faced new pressure to act this week amid evidence of Russian atrocities, including in the city of Bucha, where troops are reported to have brutally killed dozens, if not hundreds, of civilians.
Analysts said the EU should be able to replace any Russian coal in a few years’ time with the help of extra supplies from the U.S. and other countries. While the bloc pays Russia roughly $20 million each day for coal, analysts told the Associated Press that represents just a fraction of the amount the EU pays Moscow for oil and gas imports, roughly $850 million per day.
Still, this could just be the first salvo from Europe, as some in the bloc continue to push for a more sweeping embargo that would take aim at Russian oil and gas supplies.
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Earlier this week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters her team is working on a sanctions package that would target Russian oil.
“We are working on additional sanctions, including on oil imports, and we are reflecting on some of the ideas presented by the member states, such as taxes or specific payment channels such as an escrow account,” she said.
A possible ban on Russian oil and gas remains a source of deep division in the bloc, as EU nations, especially Germany and Italy, have struggled to divest themselves from Russian energy supplies.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday night, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi told reporters that no Russian gas embargo is currently in consideration, “and I don’t know if it ever will be on the table,” he said.
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But Draghi acknowledged it could be a decision leaders are forced to make down the line, noting that “the more horrendous this war gets, the allied countries will ask, in the absence of our direct participation in the war, what else can this coalition of allies do to weaken Russia, to make it stop.”
