EU lawmakers urge Germany to accept embargo on Russian oil

By Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) - A group of lawmakers from all political groups in the European Parliament has urged Germany to impose an embargo on Russian energy imports amid rumors that the EU would slap its sixth sanctions package later this week, according to a news report on Monday.

In a letter dated Saturday and published by the Politico news outlet, 50 members of the European Parliament demanded German chancellor Olaf Scholz lead to EU's efforts to impose tough sanctions on Russian energy imports.

"Germany and the EU should not prove themselves vulnerable to Putin's blackmail. Thus, we ask the German Government to take a stand on the right side of the history," said the signatories, who represent most EU countries and the entire political spectrum of the European Parliament.

They argued that the bloc pays €800 million (over $857 million) daily to Russian President Vladimir Putin's "pockets, helping to finance his war machine," adding that if this continues, it will have paid over €200 billion by the end of the year.

Acknowledging Germany's concerns of a serious economic downturn if an oil embargo is adopted, they stated that estimates on the economic costs were "highly overstated."

The letter claimed that cutting imports of oil and petroleum products from Russia would result in a 0.5-3% GDP loss in Germany, while it would cause a 30-40% decline in Russia.

It also pointed out that Germany was reported to oppose energy sanctions "even having witnessed the Bucha massacre" and doubted that the "proud German nation, which strongly supports Ukraine" backs this stance.

"We strongly believe that Germany can lead the rest of the EU Member States to overcome the current political impasse and immediately implement the Russian energy embargo," the lawmakers concluded their letter.

According to media reports, the bloc is expected to adopt its sixth round of sanctions against Russia this week, though this package, like its predecessors, falls short of an embargo on oil and gas.

The EU has allocated €1.5 billion in military support to Ukraine and adopted five packages of sanctions since the beginning of the war on Feb. 24.

The packages include restrictive measures targeting individuals, including President Putin, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, oligarchs, and military officers.

The EU has also banned imports of coal and exports of luxury goods to Russia and excluded Russian and Belarusian banks from the SWIFT international payment system.