On the 5th local time, EU member states approved the latest round of sanctions against Russia, including setting a price ceiling on Russian oil, which has attracted much attention from the outside world. It is expected that the specific sanctions will take effect on the morning of the 6th local time. However, the latest sanctions against Russia have further highlighted the differences within the EU. Several member states have proposed that they hope to obtain sanctions exemptions in the energy sector.
It is reported that the latest round of sanctions against Russia will prohibit Russian oil from transporting to third countries by sea. As the global maritime service market is monopolized by Western countries such as the EU and the UK, once Russia's oil price exceeds the upper limit set by the EU, Russian oil sellers may find it difficult to find insurance service providers willing to guarantee maritime shipping.
In addition, sanctions will impose more restrictions on the transaction of Russian steel products, high-tech products and other commodities; the EU will be prohibited from providing Internet technology, engineering and legal services to Russian entities, and further ban technology exports. In addition, the EU has also included some Russian citizens on the sanctions list.
Due to energy shortage, the EU economy is facing the threat of recession. Against this background, there are constant disputes within the EU over whether to continue to impose sanctions on Russia in the energy field. The three major maritime countries, Greece , Cyprus and Malta , are worried that limiting prices on Russian seafreight oil will hit their global maritime business, so they actively seek sanctions exemptions. Hungary is one of the few countries within the EU that can continue to transport through pipelines and obtain Russian oil. After negotiations, Hungary was exempted from the EU's upper limit on Russian oil prices.
The outside world is worried that forcibly promoting a new round of sanctions against Russia will not only fail to solve the problems of high inflation and energy supply currently facing the EU, but may also further intensify the social and economic crisis.
Source: CCTV Finance
