Brussels prepares 21st sanctions package

The European Union’s 21st package of sanctions against Russia must be approved by July 15, 2026, due to the deadline for updating the price cap on Russian oil, according to EuroPravda, citing sources in Brussels.

The new sanctions package is intended to prevent a sharp increase in the maximum price allowed for Russian oil, CE Report quotes MOLDPRES.

According to EuroPravda’s sources, the key element of the 21st sanctions package will be freezing the current price cap mechanism for Russian crude oil.

The main objective is to prevent Russia from receiving excessive revenues from oil sales as a result of a sharp rise in global oil prices caused by the conflict in the Middle East and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

At present, the price cap for Russian oil is set at USD 44.1 per barrel, a level established on January 15, 2026. The next scheduled revision is due on July 15, 2026.

According to energy experts, the next price cap could rise to around USD 75 per barrel due to increasing oil prices linked to the Hormuz blockade.

“Such a price cap for Russian oil is unacceptable because it would allow Putin to significantly increase energy revenues, which would then be directed toward the war against Ukraine,” an anonymous European official said.

As a result, the idea emerged to temporarily suspend the formula-based calculation of the Russian oil price cap and instead freeze it through new rules incorporated into the EU’s 21st sanctions package.

“That is why there is a need to approve the 21st sanctions package by July 15. This is the objective set by both the European Commission and the EU Council,” another EuroPravda source stated.

The source added that discussions are ongoing regarding the level at which the cap should be frozen. While there is little support for keeping it at USD 44.1 per barrel, there is also no consensus for raising it to USD 75.

“The compromise figure will be somewhere in between,” the official said, suggesting that the final level could be around USD 60 per barrel.

According to EuroPravda, the European Commission plans to present the 21st sanctions package against Russia early next week, either on June 8 or June 9.

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