Add Category
Josep Borrell, the European Union's top diplomat, said in a statement Monday that the bloc was working as a "matter of urgency" on drawing up new sanctions against Russia. French President Macron said that he would support a total ban on Russian coal and oil exports to the European Union as soon as this week.
Speaking to a French broadcaster, Macron said that there were "very clear signs" war crimes had been committed in Bucha and that, "it's pretty established that it's the Russian army" who is responsible for them.
"We can't let it slide. We must have sanctions that dissuade with what's happened there [in Bucha], what's happening at Mariupol," Macron said.
But a block on Russia's gas exports would exacerbate soaring inflation in Europe's economies, and could tip Germany — Russia's biggest energy customer — and other countries into recession.
"In the case of deliveries of Russian gas stopping, the situation would be aggravated," Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing said in a statement. "A substantial recession in Germany could be hardly avoided."
The stakes are high. The European Union imported nearly €100 billion ($110 billion) worth of Russian energy last year. Russia supplies about 40% of the bloc's imports of natural gas, and about 27% and 46% of its imported oil and coal respectively.
Some EU countries want the bloc to go further, and have been calling for a ban on Russian natural gas for weeks. One has just taken the step. Lithuania's Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė said in a tweet on Sunday that "from now and so on, Lithuania won't be consuming a cubic cm of toxic Russian gas."
Germany has so far ruled out an immediate ban but a government minister said Sunday it must now be up for discussion.
"There has to be a response," she said. "Such crimes must not go unanswered," German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said in an interview with public broadcaster ARD.
Finance Minister Christian Lindne said Monday that Germany supports further sanctions on Russia but cutting off gas supplies was not possible right now.
"We have to put more pressure on Putin and we have to isolate Russia, we have to cut all economic relationship to Russia but at the moment it's not possible to cut the gas supplies." Lindner told reporters in Luxembourg.
"We need some time and so we have to differentiate between oil, coal and gas at the moment," he added.
"I call on the leaders of the European Union to act decisively, to implement actions that will finally break Putin's war machine and take its air," Morawiecki said.
— Livvy Doherty, Chris Liakos, Joseph Ataman, Elias Lemercier, Anna Odzeniak, Niamh Kennedy, Inke Kappeler, James Frater and Mark Thompson contributed reporting.