EU weighs smaller Russia sanctions batches to curb one country's bargaining power
The European Union is thinking about changing how it punishes Russia over the war in Ukraine.
#unanimity
One Vote, One Package: Bulgaria's Kirill Veto and the Two Speeds of EU Sanctions
Sofia's single objection to blacklisting Patriarch Kirill still holds the entire 21st sanctions package hostage to EU unanimity rules. Meanwhile, two separate legal acts — targeting cyberattacks and the torture of Ukrainian POWs — have gone through on qualified majority, exposing the two-speed machinery of EU sanctions.
Brussels' Self-Set Trap: Why 15 July Could Blow the Russian Oil Price Cap to $58
EU ambassadors face a 15 July deadline to agree changes to the Russian oil price cap or watch it automatically jump from $44.10 to $58 a barrel under a formula written into the sanctions regime itself. The mechanics of that trigger, and Sofia's retreat from a hard veto, are what will decide the outcome.