Il European Parliament calls for further tightening of sanctions against Russia extending the embargo also to oil and gas. The resolution – adopted with 513 votes in favour, 22 against and 19 abstentions – comes the day after the go-ahead for the fifth package of sanctions with which the European Commission banned member countries from buying coal from Russia.
The risks of the oil and gas embargo
Enlarging the perimeter of the energy embargo is a high-risk operation for Europe: Europe's dependence on Moscow's crude is over 25%while for what concerns gas Russia supplies about 150 of the 430 billion cubic meters that the EU consumes every year (and 28-29 of the 76 that Italy consumes).
The clarifications of the European Parliament
For this MEPs argue that the embargo should be accompanied by actions aimed at ensuring the security of energy supply of the EU in the short term.
Not only that: the Community Parliament also asks to define the steps that Russia should follow to obtain the lifting of sanctions in the future, “in the event that it takes steps to restore the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders and withdraws its troops completely from Ukrainian territory”.
Von der Leyen meets Zelensky
Meanwhile, tomorrow the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, will meet the number one of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. This was announced by Zelensky's spokesman, Sergey Nikiforov, quoted by the Interfax-Ukraine agency. “Tomorrow there will be a meeting with the president of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen. I can't tell the time for security reasons,” she stated.
