The European Union has postponed the presentation of the 19th package of sanctions against Russia, which was scheduled for September 17.
Politico reports this, citing an EU diplomat and a member state official.
The decision was announced by the member state governments late on the evening of September 15. The sanctions were removed from the Coreper II agenda as pressure from the US President Donald Trump and the European Unionʼs own pressure on Slovakia and Hungary to reduce their dependence on Russian oil increases.
EU energy diplomats will meet on September 16 to discuss the latest changes to the proposed plan to phase out Russian energy. On June 17, the European Commission presented a plan to completely stop importing Russian gas and oil by the end of 2027.
According to the proposed schedule:
- new contracts for the import of Russian gas will be prohibited from January 1, 2026;
- imports under current short-term contracts must cease by June 17, 2026, with the exception of gas supplied by pipelines to landlocked countries and covered by long-term contracts — it is allowed to be imported until the end of 2027;
- all imports under long-term contracts will cease by the end of 2027.
Trumpʼs pressure to abandon Russian oil
The American president is currently pressuring European countries to abandon purchases of Russian energy. But to do so, he needs to pressure Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. Trump previously stated that he has a good relationship with them.
“These are his friends, he can just call them,” said one European diplomat.
Furthermore, Trumpʼs ultimatum requires a huge policy shift from Turkey, which imports 57% of its oil from Russia — which is not going to happen.
Some analysts believe that Trumpʼs current statements are just a "public trick" because he has previously avoided confrontation with Putin. Others suggest that these may be tricks to force Europe to buy more American energy until a new wave of liquefied natural gas hits the markets in 2026.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.