Without another extension next week, prices will go up directly because the price of oil has risen because of the war in Iran – giving it to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The European Commission is legally obliged to recalculate the maximum price after July 15 but the new limit will only come into effect on August 1, giving the executive some freedom.
It was the third day in a row that ministers or ambassadors of the European Union met, but failed to agree on the 21st round of sanctions due to the four-year war of Russian aggression against Ukraine.
The EU is struggling to maintain unity in sanctions even as Ukraine battles Russia with a drone campaign that is causing heavy casualties and massive attacks that hit several oil refineries. Kyiv’s pushback has resulted severe shortage of oil in Russia and forced Moscow to turn to world markets for diesel to be imported.
All in one
Because sanctions require unanimity among the EU’s 27 capitals, national governments can price their approval by seeking other agreements. Former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was a prominent blocker of such support for Ukraine, although it was expected that Budapest would have less of an obstacle after he was ousted by Péter Magyar earlier this year.
This time, however, Austria and Greece have broken the lid to throw a wrench in the case.
Vienna has proposed a deal under which Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank will be compensated for what it calls the illegal takeover of €2.44 billion of its Russian operations. The request will involve seizing and selling €2.1 billion in frozen Russian assets located in Austria; the property ultimately belongs to a company owned by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, a beneficiary of the Raiffeisen takeover.
