The European Union may freeze the Russian oil prices cap

Alexey Belogoryev, Research and Development Director of the Institute for Energy and Finance, commented on the European Commission's proposal to freeze the Russian oil prices cap to Business FM:

"This is an attempt to portray a tightening of sanctions, because if the decision to freeze had not been made, then this ceiling would have to be sharply raised due to the increase in oil prices that has been in the last month. The ceiling is reviewed every six months, and now it would probably be $20 higher than the current level of $44. The freeze is, in fact, a tightening of sanctions, not an easing. Another thing is that they mainly affect Greek and Cypriot ship freight services. EU companies that provide freight are forced to follow this ceiling and ensure that the goods they transport are sold according to these rules.

In fact, most of the Russian cargo is sold at prices that have nothing to do with this ceiling. In fact, these are sanctions against companies within the EU, mainly Greek and Cypriot. These sanctions mainly harm their own European companies. They certainly have an impact on the overall freight supply for Russian oil and petroleum products, and they have a negative impact, but it is, in general, sufficient now. Therefore, there is no shortage of fleet. This is an attempt to portray at least some actions aimed at limiting Russia's income from oil exports. Not the most effective measures, but there are very few effective measures left in the arsenal of the European Commission and the European Union. Hungary and Slovakia, which receive oil through the Druzhba pipeline, continue to block a complete ban. Despite the change of power in Hungary, Peter Magyar's new government insists that Hungary needs Russian oil. We haven't agreed on anything yet. The European Commission will continue to put pressure on both Hungary and Slovakia to set a specific deadline for them to completely abandon the import of Russian oil. Those, in turn, try to postpone it for as long as possible."