During the special meeting of the European Council on 30 and 31 May, the Leaders of the EU were able to reach an agreement on the sixth package of sanctions against Russia, which includes the ban of almost 90% of all Russian crude oil and petroleum products imports by the end of the year, while keeping 10% of pipeline oil.

Therefore, the European Council urges a well-functioning EU Single Market, fair competition, solidarity among Member States and a level playing field also regarding the phasing out the EU dependency on Russian fossil fuels.

Another important element in this package is the de-SWIFTing of Sberbank, the largest Russian bank. There is also a ban on insurance and reinsurance of Russian ships by EU companies, a ban on providing Russian companies with a whole range of business services, and there is also a suspension of broadcasting in the European Union of three further Russian state outlets that were broadly spreading misinformation.

On the other hand, the EU leaders also agreed to support the reconstruction of Ukraine, providing €9 billion in macro-financial assistance and political, military and humanitarian support to Ukraine. The Leaders of the European Council also agreed on strengthening the EU’s defence and energy security.

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