The European Union is poised to ban Russian coal in the first sanctions on the vital energy industry over the war in Ukraine, but it has underlined the 27 nations' inability to agree on a much more sweeping embargo on oil and natural gas that would hit Russia harder but risk recession at home.
The coal ban, which is expected to be approved in a new package of sanctions this week, would cost Russia US$4 billion a year, said the European Commission, the EU's executive arm. Energy analysts and coal importers say Europe could replace Russian supply in a few months from other countries, including the U.S.
"And I don't know if it ever will be on the table," Draghi told reporters in Rome on Wednesday night. For now, even the coal ban brings worrying consequences for politicians and consumers. Germany and EU members in Eastern Europe still generate a large share of their power from coal despite a yearslong transition toward cleaner energy sources.
Commodities analyst Barbara Lambrecht at German bank Commerzbank said EU governments likely could agree on a coal embargo because it would come into effect after three months and only apply to new contracts. The downside is it would have limited impact on Russia, with coal only 3.5% of Russia's exports and only a quarter going to the EU.
Yet European Council President Charles Michel said, "I believe that measures on oil and even on gas will also be needed sooner or later."
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