EU urged to ‘turn off the tap’ to Russian energy

THE European Union should slap new sanctions on Russia’s exports of liquefied natural gas, its shadow fleet of aging oil tankers and major energy companies over its war on Ukraine, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday.

- LORNE COOK

“It is time to turn off the tap” on LNG, Ms von der Leyen said in a video statement outlining her commission’s new sanctions proposals. They must be endorsed by the 27 EU countries before they can enter force.

“I now call on member states to quickly endorse these new sanctions. We want Russia to leave the battlefield and come to the negotiation table, and this is the way to give peace a real chance,” she said.

The bloc has already agreed on 18 packages of sanctions against Russia, but getting final agreement on who and what to target can take weeks.

More than 2,500 “entities” including banks, ministries, energy companies and officials have already been hit. The officials include President Vladimir Putin and his associates, scores of Russian politicians and several oligarchs. Travel bans and asset freezes are the most common measures.