EU agrees on plan to cap Russian seaborne oil prices

Dec. 2 (UPI) -- European Union ambassadors Friday reached agreement on a plan to cap prices on Russian oil shipped by sea, according to the Czech Republic, which currently holds the EU presidency.

A Czech Republic tweet confirming the deal said: "Ambassadors have just reached an agreement on price cap of Russian seaborne oil. Written procedure follows, decision will enter into force on publication in the Official Journal."

Poland had been holding out on the deal, but agreed to the EU's $60 per barrel price cap on the Russian oil. Poland wanted a lower cap, but agreed to the EU price capping that called for a price at least 5% below the average market price.

#COREPERII | ✅ Ambassadors have just reached an agreement on price cap for Russian seaborne #oil ️. Written procedure follows, decision will enter into force on publication in the Official Journal. EU stays united and #StandWithUkraine. #EU2022CZ pic.twitter.com/92vHTFDzxV— EU2022_CZ (@EU2022_CZ) December 2, 2022

The European Union decided in May to embargo Russian seaborne oil, but exempted Russian oil delivered via pipelines. That embargo takes effect Monday.