Sweden Calls for EU to Prohibit Support for Russian Oil and Gas Fleet

Sweden's Proposal for EU Sanctions

STOCKHOLM, Jan 12 (Reuters) - The European Union should ban companies from providing any support to Moscow's oil and gas-shipping fleet, introduce sanctions against Russian fertilisers and stop luxury goods exports to Russia, Sweden's foreign minister said on Monday.

Details of the Proposed Ban

The 27-nation bloc is currently preparing its 20th sanctions package aimed at punishing Russia for its war in Ukraine. Previous sanctions have focused heavily on hobbling its oil and gas sector, the Kremlin's primary source of revenues.

Impact on Russian Exports

"The pressure on Russia has to be increased," Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said at an annual security conference in the town of Salen, in western Sweden.

Previous Sanctions Overview

Stenergard said the EU's next sanctions package should include a total ban on European companies providing services to Russian ships carrying oil, gas and coal.

"No transport, no reloading of goods between ships, no insurance and no port repairs," she said.

The EU should also impose sanctions on exports of Russian fertiliser, Russia's third-biggest export to the EU.

The EU imposed tariffs on fertiliser imports from Russia in July last year. Russia produces more than 20% of the world's fertiliser and supplies around 25% of the EU's fertiliser imports.

"And we want to put an end to exports of luxury goods from the EU to Russia," she said. "It irritates me that rich Russian consumers can wear expensive Italian clothing brands and drink fine French wines."

The EU has imposed 19 packages of sanctions against Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

(Reporting by Simon Johnson; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Joe Bavier)