The countries of the European Union have reached this Friday an agreement to set a cap on the price of Russian oil of 60 dollars per barrel. The pact is part of the reprisals against Moscow agreed with the G7 for the war in Ukraine, diplomatic sources have explained to Efe.
The cap, however, does not directly affect the community block, because as of next Monday it will apply a total embargo on the crude it imports from Russia, except for the one that Hungary buys by pipeline. However, it will prohibit European shipping companies from transporting Russian oil to third countries if it is sold at a price higher than that set. The political agreement guarantees that, if the market price falls below 60 dollars a barrel, the cap will be updated in such a way that it is at least 5% below what it has in the market.
The agreement has been possible after Poland has lifted the veto that it has maintained in the last ten days, since it wanted the ceiling agreed between the Twenty-seven to be well below the 65 dollars agreed by the G7. On the other hand, Greece, Malta and Cyprus wanted the price to be higher, so as not to damage the business of their shipping companies, which transport a large part of the crude oil that Moscow sends outside its borders.
In addition, the cap on Russian oil means prohibiting insurance and reinsurance, as well as other financial services, on all those ships that load crude oil purchased at a price higher than the cap, which in practice would hinder the purchases themselves or their subsequent transportation. In exchange for unblocking the deal, Poland has secured a commitment from its European partners to speed up the ninth package of sanctions against Moscow. The agreement reached this Friday at the political level will have to be formally adopted in the coming days.
