The European Union and the UK are pushing for a lowering of the oil price cap — a key economic sanction against Russia.

The price cap is currently set at $60 (€52.7) per barrel of oil and has been in place since December 2022. Its provisions mean shipping and insurances services from G7 group of advanced economies and EU nations, which dominate global shipping, are not provided for the transit of Russian oil unless the oil is being sold at or below the level of the cap.

The EU is currently working on an 18th package of sanctions against Russia, having released its 17th package earlier this week. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has confirmed that the EU and Britain were hoping to convince its G7 partners to lower the oil price cap for the next package.

European Commission spokesperson Olof Gill told DW that discussions on the price cap were ongoing with G7 partners and confirmed that any lowering of the cap would require unanimity among EU member states. The EU has not publicly revealed what level it believes the cap should be changed to, but various reports have suggested $50.

Brent crude, a global benchmark, has been trading at close to $65 per barrel recently, while Russian oil has traded between $55 and $59 in April and May, just below the cap.

The idea behind lowering the cap........

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