The EU is readying its 14th package of sanctions against Russia, which should be adopted this spring, EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said at a conference in Brussels on April 9.
The European bloc has already adopted 13 packages in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, aiming to undermine Moscow's economic output and the ability to sustain the war.
"We have started preparing a 14th sanctions package, which should be adopted in spring," Dombrovskis said at the "Standing with Ukraine: European Parliament's legacy for the sanctions regime" conference of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) parliamentary group.
"It is likely to include an extensive list of restrictive measures with a strong anti-circumvention angle – in the maritime sector, for example, as Russia continues to try and violate the price cap for its oil exports," said the official who also serves as the EU Commission's executive vice president for economic and financial affairs.
The EU, the U.S., and the Group of Seven (G7) countries imposed a $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian seaborne oil in December 2022. While initially successful, Russia later managed to largely dodge the effects by using a "shadow fleet" of uninsured tankers. Kyiv's partners have been intensifying their efforts to enforce the cap.
