The European Union is facing mounting internal resistance over its latest package of sanctions targeting Russia, as a growing number of member states refuse to support measures they believe could damage important national business interests. According to the Financial Times, the dispute has raised concerns among diplomats that the bloc’s four-year sanctions strategy in support of Ukraine is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain.
Diplomats involved in the negotiations said countries including Greece, France, Italy, Germany, Austria and Portugal have either demanded exemptions from proposed measures or blocked parts of the package altogether. Because EU sanctions require unanimous approval from all member states, the objections have stalled progress despite four consecutive days of negotiations among ambassadors in Brussels.
The proposed 21st package of sanctions includes new restrictions targeting Russian exports, financial institutions and mechanisms designed to maintain limits on the price at which Russia can sell crude oil. Diplomats told the Financial Times that repeated requests for carve-outs have raised fears that national economic priorities are increasingly outweighing collective efforts to pressure Moscow over its war in Ukraine.
Several diplomats involved in the discussions said support for sanctions has become more difficult to secure as governments weigh the impact on domestic companies that continue to conduct business linked to Russia. One diplomat described the situation as evidence that declarations of solidarity are becoming harder to translate into unanimous decisions once economic consequences emerge.
Greece has emerged as one of the strongest opponents of parts of the package, refusing to support the broader sanctions unless the EU allows continued transportation of Russian liquefied natural gas to third countries. Greek officials argue that prohibiting such shipments would disproportionately affect the country’s shipping industry, including Dynagas, owned by shipping entrepreneur George Prokopiou.
According to shipping data cited by the Financial Times, Dynagas has transported more than 30 million tonnes of LNG from Russia’s Arctic Yamal project since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022. Based on estimates using Argus Media pricing, those shipments represent cargo valued at more than $24 billion, with a single vessel, the Fedor Litke, carrying cargo worth more than $4 billion during that period.
Greek officials have maintained that any sanctions should impose greater costs on Russia than on European economies and have argued that banning companies such as Dynagas would primarily benefit non-European competitors while weakening the EU’s maritime sector. Dynagas said its contracts were signed years before the current conflict and warned that a blanket prohibition could undermine European shipping without achieving its intended geopolitical objectives.
Resistance has extended beyond Greece. Portugal and Germany have requested the removal of a proposed ban on Russian fish imports, citing concerns for their domestic fish-processing industries. France and Italy have reportedly sought to soften proposals restricting visas for Russian soldiers who served during the war, while Austria has renewed its request to unfreeze approximately €2 billion in Russian assets to compensate Raiffeisen Bank for a penalty imposed by Russian authorities.
Diplomats involved in the negotiations said the number and scope of requested exemptions are unprecedented since the EU began imposing sanctions shortly before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Since then, the bloc has approved 20 sanctions packages targeting sectors ranging from energy and finance to steel, diamonds and fertilizers, often after lengthy negotiations.
Analysts say the latest disagreements reflect the increasing difficulty of expanding sanctions into areas that directly affect influential European industries. Jacob Kirkegaard, a senior fellow at Brussels-based think tank Bruegel, told the Financial Times that the EU may be approaching the practical limits of sanctions as governments become increasingly reluctant to expose what he described as their economic “crown jewels.”
The debate has also revived tensions among member states over how the economic burden of sanctions has been distributed. European companies including Danish brewer Carlsberg and Finnish energy company Fortum incurred significant losses after Russia seized corporate assets during the early stages of the conflict. Diplomats said governments whose businesses absorbed those losses are increasingly frustrated by what they view as efforts by other countries to shield their own commercial interests.
Negotiations are taking place as Ukraine intensifies long-range strikes against Russian military targets and oil infrastructure, while Western governments continue to view coordinated sanctions as an important component of broader efforts to pressure Moscow toward negotiations. However, diplomats told the Financial Times that underlying disagreements increasingly reflect differing assessments among member states about the level of threat Russia poses to their own national security.
As talks continue in Brussels, the proposed sanctions package remains without unanimous backing, leaving uncertainty over both the timing of its adoption and the final scope of measures the European Union will ultimately approve.
