EU's 19th Russia sanctions package delayed as Trump applies pressure

By Jan Strupczewski and Julia Payne

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission will delay presenting its next Russia sanctions package, EU officials said on Tuesday, as the bloc tries to respond to the Trump administration's demand that it play a stronger role in depriving Russia of energy revenues.  

The Commission had been expected to present a 19th round of sanctions to envoys of the 27 EU member states on Wednesday that diplomats said was likely to include Russian banks, Moscow's sanctions-evading "shadow fleet" of oil tankers and listings to deter other countries from circumventing EU and US sanctions.

Two EU officials confirmed the delay, first reported by Politico, but did not say why the timeline had slipped. No new date has been set for the package to be presented.

Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, pressed the EU to act swiftly.

"The 19th EU sanctions package must be adopted without delay - and all strong measures must remain intact," he wrote on X.

TRUMP PRESSURES EU ON RUSSIAN ENERGY IMPORTS

The U.S. has stepped up pressure on Europe to play a more robust role in helping to end Russia's war in Ukraine, with a peace deal seemingly elusive despite repeated threats of harsher penalties on Moscow and partners.

U.S. President Donald Trump has told the EU it should impose harsh tariffs on India and China, the biggest buyers of Russian oil, and stop importing Russian energy itself, as part of a strategy to put pressure on Russia's war economy.   

A European Commission spokesperson told reporters "discussions are ongoing in order to have a solid (sanctions) package".

The EU already intends to end purchases of Russian oil and gas by January 1, 2028 - a goal it says is ambitious and would ensure that EU countries do not face energy price spikes or supply shortages in the meantime. 

But Washington wants the bloc to move faster.

On tariffs, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration would not impose additional levies on Chinese goods to halt China's purchases of Russian oil unless EU nations first hit China and India with punitive duties of their own. 

European officials have said the bloc is highly unlikely to do so. The EU treats tariffs differently to sanctions and only imposes them after a probe to establish a legal justification within the bloc's trade laws. 

"It's a challenging proposition (from Trump)," one EU diplomat told Reuters. "Even if his requests are deliberately excessive, it still forces us to come to terms with them in some way in order to avoid him shifting the blame onto the EU."

Finance ministers from the Group of Seven nations discussed further Russia sanctions last Friday. Earlier that day, Trump said his patience with Russia's President Vladimir Putin was running out, but he stopped short of threatening new sanctions.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Kyiv supported all efforts to starve the Russian war machine of resources.

"They can and should be coordinated steps from both sides of the Atlantic," he said on X.

(Reporting by Jan Strupczewski and Julia Payne; writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Gareth Jones)