Greece Exposes the Limits of Europe’s Russia Energy Sanctions

The last EU agreement about the latest sanctions package against Russia is being presented by Brussels as another demonstration of European unity and determination to sustain economic pressure on the Kremlin. Since February 2022, sanctions have been one of the EU’s principal strategic instruments, targeting Russian banking, technology, defense industries and increasingly Russia’s energy sector. However, the negotiations surrounding the latest package have now revealed that Europe continues to face an uncomfortable dilemma. Brussels needs to confront the question: “How far can it tighten sanctions before they begin to undermine its own commercial strengths?” This has now come sharply into…