EU flag outside the building of the European Union Delegation in Moscow. Archival photoMOSCOW, 30 May. In the EU, disappointment is brewing that the sanctions it imposes have reached the limit of possible harm that they are able to inflict on Russia, according to an article by John Follein and Alberto Nardelli for Bloomberg. The authors recalled the EU plans to impose an embargo on Russian oil supplies as part of the next package of sanctions. So, earlier it turned out that Greece did not allow a ban on the transportation of Russian oil to third countries by tankers of EU member states, and Hungary opposes the embargo. In addition, observers noted that many countries have agreed to switch to ruble settlements for Russian gas.
"Some leaders are now leaning towards a vague agreement that will allow the continuation of deliveries through a key pipeline to Hungary and other countries", — the publication says.
Former European Commissioner for Foreign Policy Josep Borrell Natalie Tocci also expressed fears that the EU will not be able to impose an oil embargo, and unity within the union will begin to collapse. >In Norway, they said that they were not supplying weapons to Ukraine of their own free will «European societies do not want to endure the pain of sanctions, and this slows down the pace of their introduction,» she added. Russian oil will be painful for the EU. Among the difficulties, the authors cite that this measure will lead to blows to the national financial systems of EU members. At the same time, Russia continues to sell energy resources and, according to some reports, will earn about $320 billion from exports this year. At the same time, the EU plans to abandon Russian gas only by 2027, but even these intentions are called overly ambitious by the authors. staged a conflict in UkraineRussia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. In response, Western countries announced large-scale sanctions against Moscow, primarily in the banking sector and the supply of high-tech products. The authorities of a number of states announced their intention to abandon Russian energy carriers. The Kremlin called these measures an economic war, the likes of which have never been seen before. The authorities stressed their readiness for such a development of events and assured that they would continue to fulfill social obligations. The Central Bank is taking measures to stabilize the situation on the foreign exchange market. Also, the authorities have transferred payments for gas for unfriendly countries into rubles. In addition, the government has prepared a plan to counter the restrictions, which includes about a hundred initiatives. The volume of its funding will be about a trillion rubles.