EU Prepares Sanctions Against Russia's Nord Stream Gas Pipelines

• 16.05.2025, 18:09

The President of the European Commission has announced increased pressure on Russia.

The European Union, which recently agreed on the 17th package of sanctions against Russia, is working on a new one, which will include measures against the Nord Stream-1 and Nord Stream-2 gas pipelines. This was announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen ahead of a summit of European leaders in the Albanian capital Tirana, Reuters reports.

"He doesn't want peace, so we have to increase the pressure and that's why we are working on a new package of sanctions," she said, referring to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, the agency explains.

Von der Leyen said that as part of the next package, the EU also plans to expand the list of vessels in the so-called shadow fleet, which the bloc's countries believe Russia uses to circumvent restrictions on its oil exports. At the same time, the price ceiling on Russian oil will be lowered and sanctions on Russia's financial sector will be strengthened, she added.

As Reuters notes, European diplomats say it is becoming increasingly difficult to get unanimity among the bloc's 27 members for new measures against Russia. Officials and diplomats say they will need U.S. support to succeed in the "sweeping" sanctions that EU leaders have threatened in recent days.

Earlier, European diplomatic chief Kaja Kallas also said in Tirana that the EU was already discussing an 18th package of sanctions.