An agreement on the 21st package of European Union sanctions against Russia remains mired in difficulty, with major political obstacles and the public threat of a Bulgarian veto shrinking the chances of securing unanimity.
Ambassadors met on Friday to discuss a revised text of the proposal tabled by the European Commission earlier this month. As expected, no consensus was found, and talks are set to continue – but the clock is ticking.
Brussels needs to have a deal by 15 July to avoid an automatic revision of the price cap on Russian seaborne oil, which is meant to be adjusted every six months to stay 15 percent below the average market price.
Since Urals soared in the aftermath of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the review is set to go upwards and grant Moscow economic relief. To avoid that scenario, the Commission has proposed keeping the cap at $44 per barrel until January 2027.
Ambassadors are considering either delaying the review or imposing a brand-new fixed cap, according to diplomats with knowledge of the process.
