Wednesday’s negotiations, which ended late in the evening, were just the latest of many attempts to reach a unified agreement on various energy and trade measures aimed at reducing Moscow’s military budget.
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Athens took a firm stance on the proposed ban for EU companies transporting Russian gas to consumers outside the EU, arguing that it goes beyond the decisions previously agreed upon by leaders and that this practice would continue anyway – ships would simply be re-registered abroad.
One EU diplomat confirmed that ambassadors would hold an additional round of negotiations on Thursday morning to preserve the sanctions package.
It is important to note that Ireland, currently holding the presidency of the EU Council, proposed on Wednesday to allow European LNG tankers to export Russian liquefied natural gas to third countries until January 2029.
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This proposal limits Russian exports and prohibits the conclusion of new contracts.
However, according to three EU diplomats involved in the discussions, the Greek government has so far refused to compromise and seeks for the exemption to be valid indefinitely.
The Greek shipping company “Dynagas” is one of the few with icebreaker-class vessels capable of reaching Russia’s LNG terminal in the Arctic Ocean. The Greek government argues that if the EU were to ban Greek companies from exporting Russian gas, these ships would simply be registered in other countries, which would reduce EU control.
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