EU Summit Standing Chair: "Russian Oil and Gas Sanctions Will Be Needed Soon"

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Charles Michel, the President of the European Union (EU) Summit, stated that there will soon be a need to consider sanctions on Russian oil and gas. As the issue of the Russian military's massacre of civilians draws international condemnation, the level of European sanctions against Russia is expected to increase further.

According to Bloomberg on the 6th (local time), President Michel, attending the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, said, "I think measures will soon be necessary even regarding Russian oil and gas," emphasizing, "There must be harsh consequences for all those responsible for the war crimes committed by the Russian military."

The EU Commission earlier announced that it would discuss new sanctions targeting Russia on the same day and proposed the 5th round of sanctions, including a ban on imports of Russian coal the day before. So far, EU member states have imposed successive sanctions against Russia for invading Ukraine, but unlike the United States, they have not implemented bans on imports of Russian crude oil and gas.

There is significant disagreement regarding energy embargo measures due to opposition from EU member states highly dependent on Russian gas and oil. In particular, some EU member states such as Germany, which have very high dependence on Russian energy, strongly oppose such measures.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the EU Commission, also stated to the European Parliament that the additional sanctions announced the day before are not the end, saying, "We are looking at oil. We need to examine the income Russia obtains from fossil fuels."

Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities claim to have recovered hundreds of civilian bodies from areas such as Bucha, which were controlled by Russian forces, asserting this as evidence of a mass massacre. However, Russia denies the allegations, claiming that the civilian massacre circumstances disclosed by the Ukrainian government were fabricated to defame Russia.