Foreign ministers in the EU started took preparatory steps on a sixth package of sanctions against Russia. Already on day one of the talks, however, it is clear that EU nations are split on the subject of levying additional sanctions against Russian energy.

”Nothing is off the table, including sanctions on oil and gas, but today no decision was taken,” says EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.

At the same time he explains why such discussions are proving difficult for nations in the EU:

”It’s easy for some member states that are not using Russian gas to say that they are ready to not use Russian gas, but for others which are heavily dependent is not so easy,” says Borrell.

Denmark and Sweden rank among the nations that seek the toughest sanctions possible against Russia. Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeppe Kofod and Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs Anna Linde are eager to include Russian oil an gas in the sanctions.

”We have taken a step forward for coal. But we need to go further. Above all, when it comes to oil,” says Linde after the meeting Monday.

She refers to the fact that the EU imposed its first sanctions against Russian energy as part of the fifth sanctions package. This involved a limited ban on purchases of coal. The next step could be oil, which is easier to replace than Russian gas.

Reports of war crimes prompt action

The limited energy sanctions materialized Friday last week, as news emerged of civilian killings in the Ukrainian town of Bucha. The timing led Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba to criticize the EU for being too weak and too slow to impose sanctions.

”I hope we will never face a situation again when to step up the sanctions pressure we need atrocities like Bucha to be revealed,” said Kuleba.

Ukraine urges the EU to halt purchases of Russian energy in order to plug the money flow to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ”war machine,” as Kuleba phrases it.

According to Linde, however, it’s uncertain whether energy will be included in the sixth package of sanctions.

”It’s difficult to say. Although more and more war crimes are coming to light, there are also more nations that maintain that the EU cannot eliminate the possibilities for using energy,” says Linde.

According to Linde, the meeting evolved into a ”technical discussion” with nations dependent on Russian gas uttering a need for alternatives and realistic time lines. Accordingly, she doesn’t expect a quick decision on the sixth package of sanctions.

”There is slightly more hope on including oil in the sanctions. There is not so much hope of including gas. But it’s not so easy to say no to energy sanctions when the world sees more and more war crimes in Ukraine,” says Linde.

She doesn’t mention which nations are standing in the way of the sanctions.

German Minister of Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock left the meeting without taking questions from the press.

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