EU Extends Russian Oil Price Cap for a Week as Sanctions Package Stalls
The pause is meant to prevent an automatic cap reset that would boost Moscow’s oil income as negotiators press holdouts from Austria and Greece for concessions.
Overview
- EU ambassadors agreed on Wednesday to keep the oil price cap at $44.10 per barrel for one week and postponed final approval of the 21st sanctions package to meetings on July 22–23.
- Austria has tied its consent to a proposal to seize and sell frozen Russian assets in Austria to compensate Raiffeisen Bank for losses from its expropriated Russian business.
- Greece is blocking tighter rules on EU ports re-exporting Russian liquefied natural gas because officials say the curbs would damage port traffic and the maritime sector.
- The European Commission is legally required to recalculate the cap after July 15 but any new ceiling would only take effect on August 1, leaving a narrow window to avoid a price jump that would benefit Russia.
- Negotiators have already watered down or dropped several Commission proposals, yet the package is still expected to include about 250 new listings and additional sanctions on banks and vessels tied to oil smuggling if unanimity is reached.