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EU States Agree on 14th Sanctions Package Against Russia

The European Union flag inside the atrium during an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Monday, June 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
The European Union flag inside the atrium during an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Monday, June 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
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EU States Agree on 14th Sanctions Package Against Russia

The European Union flag inside the atrium during an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Monday, June 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
The European Union flag inside the atrium during an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Monday, June 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

European Union countries agreed on a 14th package of sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine, diplomats said on Thursday, including a ban on re-exports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) in EU waters.
Belgium, which holds the rotating EU presidency until July 1, said on the X platform that the package "maximizes the impact of existing sanctions by closing loopholes".
Countries debated the new measures for over a month and ultimately watered down one of the Commission's proposals, aimed at preventing even more circumvention, at Germany's prompting, Reuters reported.
The dropped measure would have forced subsidiaries of EU companies in third countries to contractually prohibit the re-exports of their goods to Russia. The EU is keen to stop the flow of dual-use technology such as washing machine chips that could be used by Russia for military purposes.
An EU diplomat said Germany had asked for an impact assessment, and the measure could be included at a later date.
The ban on trans-shipments is the first restriction the bloc has applied to LNG. However, gas market experts say the measure will have little impact as Europe is still buying Russian gas itself, and trans-shipments via EU ports to Asia represent only around 10% of total Russian LNG exports.
The package also tightens measures against the shadow fleet moving Russian oil outside the price cap on Russian crude set by the Group of Seven (G7) nations. EU countries added tankers to the list of sanctioned entities as well as at least two Russian-owned ships moving military equipment from North Korea, diplomats said.
Overall, 47 new entities and 69 individuals were added to the EU sanctions list, bringing the total to 2,200. The package is expected to be formally approved when EU foreign ministers meet on Monday, diplomats said.

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G7 Glosses over Tariffs, Pledges to Cut Global Economic Imbalances 

Canada's Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, center right, and Governor of the Bank of Canada Tiff Macklem, center left, pose for a family photo with their colleagues at the G7 Finance Ministers meeting in Banff, Alta., Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (Jeff McIntosh /The Canadian Press via AP)
Canada's Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, center right, and Governor of the Bank of Canada Tiff Macklem, center left, pose for a family photo with their colleagues at the G7 Finance Ministers meeting in Banff, Alta., Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (Jeff McIntosh /The Canadian Press via AP)
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G7 Glosses over Tariffs, Pledges to Cut Global Economic Imbalances 

Canada's Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, center right, and Governor of the Bank of Canada Tiff Macklem, center left, pose for a family photo with their colleagues at the G7 Finance Ministers meeting in Banff, Alta., Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (Jeff McIntosh /The Canadian Press via AP)
Canada's Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, center right, and Governor of the Bank of Canada Tiff Macklem, center left, pose for a family photo with their colleagues at the G7 Finance Ministers meeting in Banff, Alta., Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (Jeff McIntosh /The Canadian Press via AP)

Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of Seven democracies papered over their differences on Thursday, pledging to tackle "excessive imbalances" in the global economy and saying they could increase sanctions on Russia.

There had been doubt before the meeting whether it would issue a final communique, in light of divisions over US tariffs and Washington's reluctance to refer to Russia's war on Ukraine as illegal.

But after three days of talks, participants signed on to a lengthy document devoid of previous language on fighting climate change and which also softened references to the Ukraine war.

"We found common ground on the most pressing global issues that we face," Canadian Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne told the closing press conference.

"I think it sends a very clear signal to the world ... that the G7 is united in purpose and in action."

The officials, who met in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, called for a common understanding of how "non-market policies and practices" undermine international economic security.

The document did not name China, but references by the United States and other G7 economies to non-market policies and practices are often targeted at its state subsidies and export-driven economic model.

The G7 statement omitted mention of US President Donald Trump's tariffs that are disrupting global trade and supply chains and swelling economic uncertainty.

Champagne downplayed the lack of communique language on tariffs, but said ministers "were not skating around" the issue and had discussed its impact. Canada seeks a deal to eliminate Trump's tariffs of 25% on many goods, such as steel and aluminum.

"We're trying to enhance growth and stability," he added. "And obviously tariffs are something in that context that you can't avoid discussing."

The gathering sets the stage for a summit of G7 leaders from June 15 to 17 in the nearby mountain resort area of Kananaskis. Trump will attend the summit, the White House confirmed on Thursday.

The G7 communique called for an analysis of market concentration and international supply chain resilience.

"We agree on the importance of a level playing field and taking a broadly coordinated approach to address the harm caused by those who do not abide by the same rules and lack transparency," the grouping said.

It also recognized an increase in low-value international "de minimis" package shipments that can overwhelm customs and tax collection systems and be used for smuggling drugs and other illicit goods.

The duty-free exemption for packages of value less than $800 has been exploited by Chinese e-commerce companies, such as Shein and Temu.

The Chinese embassy in Ottawa said it could not immediately comment on the G7 statement.

'BRUTAL' WAR

The G7 finance chiefs condemned what they called Russia's "continued brutal war" against Ukraine and said if ceasefire efforts failed, they would explore all possible options, including "further ramping up sanctions."

The description of the Ukraine war was watered down from October's G7 statement, before Trump's re-election, calling it an "illegal, unjustifiable, and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine."

Trump has diminished US support for Ukraine and suggested that Kyiv was to blame for the conflict as he tries to coax Russia into peace talks.

But the G7 ministers pledged to work together to ensure no countries that financed the Russian war would be eligible to benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine.

"That's a very big statement," said Champagne, calling it a fundamental pillar of the communique. It did not name China or other countries the West has accused of supplying critical components to Russia in defiance of sanctions.

Russia's sovereign assets in G7 jurisdictions would remain immobilized until Moscow ended the war and paid for the damage it has caused to Ukraine, the communique said.

European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said the G7 ministers discussed a proposal to lower the G7-led price cap of $60 a barrel on Russian oil exports, since Russian crude is now selling below that.

But the plan was not mentioned in the communique, partly because US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was not convinced it was needed, a European official said.

Brent crude currently trades around $64 per barrel.

A European official said the United States is "not convinced" about lowering the Russian oil price cap.

A US Treasury spokesperson said only that Bessent's G7 engagements "were both pleasant and constructive, and we look forward to our future engagements with all of our G7 partners on issues of mutual interest."

Bessent came to Banff to the relief of many participants after he skipped a G20 finance meeting in February in the South African city of Cape Town.

G7 officials described his interactions as "constructive" and "flexible" and said some initial stiffness gave way to jokes over dinner.

"We had a feeling that it was a discussion between friends and allies," a French official said.

But Bessent took an unusually low profile for a US Treasury secretary at the G7 meeting, holding no news conference and largely operating out of sight of the press.

"I had a very productive day," he told a reporter on Wednesday, in his only public comment to the media.