The decision to impose new EU sanctions against Russia failed on Tuesday due to Slovakia's resistance. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is fighting for an exemption clause. There has been some movement in the negotiations recently, especially regarding the planned oil price cap. The EU wants to reduce the Russian oil price cap to $45 (the equivalent of about €38.49) per barrel. She was "really sad" that the sanctions were not approved, said EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas after Tuesday's meeting.
However, she hopes an agreement can be reached on Wednesday. Slovakia Wants Russian Gas by 2034 The Slovak government is fighting for an exemption clause that would allow it to execute a gas supply contract with the Russian state-owned company Gazprom until 2034. The EU's goal is to end all gas imports from Russia by January 1, 2028. Last month, the European Commission proposed the 18th package of sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine.
In addition to Russian gas and oil exports, Russian banks and the arms industry are also in the spotlight. Kallas announced that EU foreign ministers would discuss how to deal with the frozen Russian assets at the end of August. "It is important that everyone listens to each other's arguments. This also allows us to find trade-offs to address these sensitivities."
Some EU states want to give Russian funds to Ukraine, others have reservations. In other areas, there were no issues at the Council of Foreign Ministers. An agreement was reached to extend the protection status of refugees from Ukraine for another year. This means that those affected will have access to the labor market, social benefits, and medical care until March 2027 without having to go through an asylum procedure. At the same time, the way will be paved for a gradual return to the war-torn country. It is "encouraging" that "the Trump administration has lost patience and is prepared to increase pressure on Russia with harsh sanctions," said Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger.
She will discuss this next week with her US counterpart, Marco Rubio, in Washington. "We see a sign of strength, for peace from the United States." This determination must also be viewed from the European side. Trump: "I'm not done with Putin yet" US President Donald Trump said he was disappointed with Russian President Vladimir Putin but had not yet given up on negotiations. "I'm disappointed with him, but I'm not done with him yet," he said. He's already thought four times that he'd reached an agreement with Putin, "and then you come home and see that he just attacked a nursing home or something in Kiev." The EU foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels on Tuesday is the last before the summer break. The situation in the Middle East also needs to be discussed.
