Greens/EFA applaud Commission's proposed oil embargo

This morning, during a debate in the European Parliament, Ursula von der Leyen proposed to impose an oil embargo against Russia. Greens/EFA have been urging for such an embargo as an essential step in countering Russia’s war of aggression.

Sergey Lagodinsky, Greens/EFA shadow rapporteur on Russia and substitute member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, comments:

“An oil boycott will be a hard blow to the Russian economy. Along with gas, coal and oil are the drivers of Russian exports. An oil embargo and the exclusion of Russia’s Sberbank from the SWIFT network represent another clear signal of European solidarity with Ukraine. We are sending a unified message to President Putin that the EU continues to be serious about effectively reacting to Russia’s aggressions. At the same time, an energy embargo must be accompanied by social measures to balance out the impact of rising energy prices within the EU.”

Ville Niinistö, Greens/EFA member of the Industry, Research and Energy Committee, comments:

“Europeans must stop funding Putin’s war. An oil embargo takes an important lever out of the Russian president’s hand and will significantly weaken Russia’s trade balance. For the EU’s energy sovereignty, we need more speed and ambition in energy efficiency alongside a major expansion of renewable energies.

“The next sanctions must include an embargo on gas, nuclear technology and uranium imports from Russia. This also means cutting off planned and unfinished projects. An example of this was set in Finland where the Finnish energy company Fennovoima terminated its contract with Russian state firm Rosatom to build a nuclear power plant. This was a major win for the Greens in Finland, as it was a project that the Greens opposed from the start with a strong focus on criticizing the geopolitical risks posed by Russian involvement and left the government in 2014 because of its licensing. The EU and its Member States must be coherent in our support for European energy sovereignty and the green deal transition in all energy investments in the future.”