On the eve of the imposition of an embargo, the twenty-seven agree with the G7 and Australia to limit Russian oil revenues worldwide.
By Virginie Malingre (Brussels, European office)
Until the end, Poland threatened to have the negotiations to the condom. It took hours of discussions with its community partners and especially friendly but firm pressure in the United States for this very Atlanticist country to raise its objections. Friday, December 2, Warsaw finally gave its agreement and allowed Westerners – European Union (EU), G7 and Australia – to finalize the Russian oil price caps that they wanted to set up. By committing to not buy Russian oil above 60 dollars per barrel, they want to limit Moscow’s income and prevent it, as much as possible, to finance his war against Ukraine.
It was time. Washington and its G7 allies wanted this device to come into force on December 5, at the same time as the Russian oil embargo decided by the EU following that established by the United States, Canada, Japan or L ‘Australia and narrowly precedes that of the United Kingdom. This ceiling is not intended to lighten their bill, since they have all decided not to buy black gold in Moscow anymore. But it was thought to ban, above this ceiling price, to European, American, British, Canadian, Japanese and Australian companies to provide services allowing the maritime transport (freight, insurance …) of Russian oil in country that has not decided to deprive yourself of it, like China or India.
Today, G7 countries provide insurance services for 90 % of world cargo – the United Kingdom in particular is a major player in this market – and Greece, as well as Malta or Cyprus to a lesser extent , is dominant on maritime freight. As soon as these actors can no longer transport or ensure the delivery of Russian oil beyond 60 euros, they de facto prevent their customers from buying them at a higher price. 2> a risky bet for Greek and British savings
By deciding a ceiling on the price of Russian oil, Westerners want, in fact, to impose it on the rest of the world. And prevent Moscow from compensating for the loss of their markets by going to sell their black gold elsewhere. In any case, their calculation.
But it is not without rique. “Insurers or carriers could emerge elsewhere,” admits a diplomat. Not only would that empty its substance the ceiling decided by the G7 and its allies, but it would give rise to competition which could ultimately undermine one of the pillars of Greek or British economies. This is why, within the EU, Greece, but also Cyprus and Malta, have a strong campaign so that the ceiling on the price of Russian oil is as close as possible to the market price.
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