EU eyes cutting off 20+ Russian banks from SWIFT, lowering oil price cap in new sanctions package

Bloomberg reported the information.

According to sources familiar with the matter, the European Commission is consulting with the bloc’s member states regarding these plans. They said that no decision has yet been made on the timing of possible restrictions.

Additionally, the EU is considering further transaction bans on about two dozen banks and new trade restrictions worth approximately €2.5 billion to further limit Russia’s revenues and its access to technologies needed for weapons production.

As part of the discussed package, the European Commission also plans to propose lowering the G7-set oil price cap to around $45 per barrel, sources say.

Currently, the cap is set at $60 and prohibits service providers from G7 countries from transporting or servicing oil sales if the price exceeds this limit. Lowering the price cap will require support from the United States.

As Bloomberg noted, it is important that the EU’s plan to impose sanctions on the Nord Stream pipelines already has Germany’s support. Chancellor Friedrich Merz last week stated he supports the European Commission’s proposal to “begin work on European measures against the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.”

Separately, the authors note that the European Union plans to expand sanctions against the so-called shadow fleet of Russian tankers and is considering new restrictions on banks that support Moscow’s military efforts, as well as on the Russian Direct Investment Fund.

The EU also aims to include provisions protecting European companies from arbitration claims under bilateral investment treaties in the new sanctions package, which will be the 18th since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

• Earlier, Bloomberg reported that the European Union is considering including the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in a new sanctions proposal against Russia.