The European Union is considering a gradual ban on Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) and new restrictions on Russian aluminum as part of its next round of sanctions, Bloomberg reported on Jan. 14, citing undisclosed officials.
The EU has begun drafting its 16th round of sanctions against Russia in response to its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The bloc aims to approve the package on Feb. 24, the third anniversary of the all-out war.
The phase-out of Russian LNG could be enacted as a sanction or part of a road map presented by the European Commission next month, people familiar with the discussions told Bloomberg. Restrictions on aluminum would be gradual, with a time frame yet to be determined.
The new sanctions may also target dozens of vessels belonging to Russia's "shadow fleet" — tankers that transport Russian oil products in violation of international sanctions — and cut more banks off from the SWIFT international payment system, Bloomberg's sources said.
The draft measures are currently under discussion and subject to change before they are formally presented.
The EU is still debating whether to impose restrictions on Russian LNG via sanctions or as a set of regulations within a road map, or a combination thereof, undisclosed officials and diplomats said.
Sanctions, which may carry the most weight, require unanimous approval of all member states. This requirement has prevented the EU from banning Russian pipeline gas, as member nations such as Slovakia and Hungary remain heavily reliant on energy imports from Russia.
The EU's largest importers of Russian LNG — Spain, Belgium, and France — are not expected to block sanctions against Moscow, the officials said.
The EU imposed its first major restrictions on Russian gas, including LNG, in its 14th sanctions package in June 2024. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed replacing Russian LNG with U.S. imports in a phone call with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in November.
The 16th sanctions package comes on the heels of a joint U.S.-U.K. crackdown on Russia's oil sector and shadow fleet. The two countries on Jan. 10 imposed major restrictions on over 180 Russian tankers and a number of oil companies. Following the sanctions, 65 oil tankers around the world paused operations and remain idling offshore.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
