The Final Exit Commentary on the Oil Embargo on Russia by Andreas Heitker
BRUSSELS (Other) – Before things got really awkward, the heads of state and government of the European Union finally got together and made what was likely the latest exit in the direction of an oil embargo. This is positive news after the terrible experience of the past four weeks, even if the compromise that was found requires months of preparation, has holes in many places, and especially with the exclusion of pipeline oil, significantly weakens the effect. But you have to be realistic: more was not possible at the moment.
This also means for further discussions about future sanctions packages against Russia, which will inevitably come: there will be no EU gas embargo in the foreseeable future, after all, the Europeans’ dependencies here are much greater than oil. The currently observable cessation of gas supply comes from the Russian side. Poland, Bulgaria, the Netherlands and now Denmark are already affected by the fact that Gazprom has turned off the gas tap because the group does not see that its shipments are properly paid in rubles. In this case, it is the Kremlin that is constantly turning the spiral of escalation.