According to The Times, the European Union is considering imposing "smart sanctions" on the Russian oil industry to minimize economic damage to the region and at the same time, to increase pressure on Moscow. This statement came from Valdis Dombrovskis, the Executive Vice President of the European Commission.
For weeks now, the European Union has been discussing some form of an oil embargo against Russia, but so far has been unable to come up with an option that would satisfy the needs of highly dependent importers like Germany, one of Europe's largest economies.
The Ukrainian government is urging the EU to impose an oil embargo, saying that buying Russian oil and gas means financing the war. However, while some countries have already signed up to the oil embargo, including Poland and Lithuania, others such as Germany and Hungary, have opposed it.
According to Dombrovskis, punitive measures against the Russian oil industry could include phasing out imports or imposing taxes. However, both will lead to an increase in oil prices, and the intention of the EU to minimize the damage will be clearly visible.
The Reuters report notes that Russia is the largest supplier of oil to the European Union, accounting for more than a quarter of all imports. The report also states that Europe gets roughly a third of its gross available energy from oil.
In accordance with the requirements of European consumers, Gazprom supplies natural gas to Europe via Ukraine. Gazprom's gas requests stood at 51.7 million cubic meters on April 24, up from 48.6 million cubic meters on April 23.
In general, the EU sanctions have already led to a reduction in Russian oil imports, which has become one of the factors behind the growth in global oil prices.