Europe adopts 19th sanctions package against Russia, including LNG import ban

The EU officially adopted on Thursday the 19th package against Russia, which includes a ban of Russian liquefied gas imports.

On Wednesday evening, after Slovakia dropped their block, the 27 member states approved the package.

The Danish rotating EU presidency said that the package was "a significant one" and targeted the main Russian revenue sources through new financial, energy, and trade measures.

The LNG ban is to be implemented in two phases: the short-term contracts end after six-months, and the long-term ones begin on January 1, 2027. The ban is a full year earlier than was planned in the roadmap of the Commission to reduce the EU's dependence on Russian fossil fuels.

The statement also said that the measures in the package include a new method to limit the movements of Russian diplomats inside the EU.

In a recent post on X, EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas stated that the attack "targets Russian banks, crypto-exchanges, entities from India and China among others."

The EU restricts the movements of Russian diplomats to counter destabilisation attempts. Putin is finding it harder to finance this war.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen stated that the ban on LNG is an important step toward a complete phase-out of Russian energy within the EU.

(source: Reuters)