BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The European Union is preparing to impose a new round of economic sanctions on Russia, but the European Union is still undecided about the key option of an energy embargo, because it is difficult to "harm others and not hurt itself".
It is difficult to reach consensus
German media quoted Josép Borelli Fontelles, vice president of the European Commission and high representative of the EU's Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, as saying: "At present, there is still no unified position within the EU on this issue. ”
In an interview with Germany's Le Monde newspaper, Borrell said there were not enough votes in EU member states to support a "complete ban on the import of Russian oil and gas or the imposition of punitive tariffs on Russian oil and gas products."
On 24 January, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Borrelli arrived at the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, to attend a meeting of EU foreign ministers. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zheng Huansong
He said the EU was ready to discuss the issue at a summit of member leaders at the end of next month and he did not expect the EU to take any decision on the issue before the meeting. "The final proposal for an embargo on oil and gas (Russia) has not yet been put on the table."
Le Monde reported that the European Commission may draw up a proposal for the "sixth batch of sanctions against Russia list" within this week.
Ukraine has repeatedly urged the EU to impose an oil embargo on Russia. Poland, Lithuania and other EU countries want to adopt embargo measures; Germany, Hungary and other countries oppose an immediate embargo.
"Smart sanctions"?
The Times reported on the 25th that the European Commission executive vice president Valdis Dombrovskis said that the eu's new round of sanctions against Russia is considering "some form of oil embargo measures", but it is necessary to ensure that the sanctions measures "not only maximize the pressure on Russia, but also minimize our collateral losses", that is, the so-called "smart sanctions", or "precision sanctions" strategy.
Valtis Dombrovskis, executive vice-president for economic affairs of the European Commission, addressed the media in front of a meeting of the Eurogroup in Brussels, Belgium, on March 14. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zheng Huansong
However, Donbrowskis said that there is no agreement within the EU on how to implement the oil embargo that "only hurts Russia and not Europe", which may include gradually reducing Russian oil consumption or imposing tariffs on Russian exports that exceed a certain price ceiling.
Analysts pointed out that economic and trade sanctions are difficult to achieve a real "precision" strike and do not cause harm to their own side. The reality is that many EU countries will not be able to shake off their dependence on Russian energy in the short term.
Russia is Europe's largest oil supplier, with 26% of the EU's total oil imports in 2020 coming from Russia.
A car drives past a gas station in The German capital, Berlin, on Feb. 11. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Stefan Zetz)
More than a third of Russia's export trade revenues last year came from oil and petroleum products. According to data collected by the Institute for European and Global Economic Research in Brussels, the EU currently imports about $450 million a day from Russia a total of about $450 million in Russian crude and refined products, as well as $400 million in natural gas and $25 million in coal.
The surge in energy prices led to record gas and electricity bills for household users on new contracts in Germany in March, with inflation in Germany at its highest rate in 40 years.
Germany's "Augsburg Report" released the survey results of 1100 German companies by the Munich Institute of Economic Research on the 25th, showing that about 46% of companies have personally experienced the pain of soaring energy prices, and nearly half of them are ready to reduce investment. 10 percent are considering abandoning energy-intensive businesses altogether; 14 percent are considering layoffs because of rising energy costs; and nearly 90 percent say they could drive up product prices as costs soar. (Shen Min)