BRUSSELS, Dec 2 (Reuters) – Poland approves an agreement within the European Union on a $60-a-barrel cap on the price of Russian oil shipped by sea, which should see the launch of the validation procedure at the level of the Twenty-Seven, said Friday the Polish ambassador to the EU, Andrzej Sados.
Poland, which initially pleaded for the lowest possible price, had suspended its agreement to the inclusion of an adjustment mechanism allowing this ceiling to be kept below the market price.
Andrzej Sados declared that the mechanism adopted would make it possible to maintain the European ceiling at least 5% below the price in force on the oil market.
The EU can now start the written procedure to validate the agreement and an official announcement should take place on Sunday, said the Polish diplomat.
The principle of such a cap comes from the G7. The idea is both to dry up Russia’s income to prevent it from financing the war in Ukraine with its oil sales while avoiding a surge in world prices when a European embargo comes into force. on Russian crude on December 5.
Non-EU countries will thus be able to continue to import Russian oil by tankers and to use European insurers and maritime service companies, provided that they do not buy Russian crude at a price above the fixed ceiling.
The G7 initially proposed a maximum price of 65 to 70 dollars per barrel, with no adjustment mechanism. Since Russian oil from the Urals was already trading at a lower level, Poland, Lithuania and Estonia demanded a lower ceiling. (Report Jan Strupczewski, written by Kate Abnett, French version Bertrand Boucey, edited by Sophie Louet)
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