The European Union’s top diplomat is pressing member states to adopt a 21st sanctions package against Russia, this one aimed squarely at closing gaps in existing measures and disrupting the shadow fleet of oil tankers that Moscow uses to evade price caps. Josep Borrell, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, argues the new package is less about expanding punitive measures and more about fixing the architecture of the sanctions regime already in place.
The shadow fleet has emerged as a central target in this effort. These aging, often poorly insured vessels allow Russia to ship crude oil above the price ceiling set by Western allies, undermining one of the most significant economic pressure tools deployed after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Borrell has long warned that such loopholes erode the credibility and effectiveness of the EU’s response to Russian aggression.
His push for the 21st package reflects a determination to tighten enforcement and restore the bite of sanctions that supporters say must remain a cornerstone of European security policy.
A Diplomat’s Long View
Borrell, a Spanish Socialist who has held the foreign-policy post since December 2019, brings a distinctive background to the effort. Born in Spain in 1947, he holds a degree in aeronautical engineering and a PhD in economics.
His career has spanned the top echelons of European politics: he served as President of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2007 and as Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2018 to 2019 before taking the EU’s top foreign policy job. These experiences have shaped a broader agenda that extends beyond sanctions. Borrell has also pushed for EU enlargement and stronger defense cooperation among member states — long-term structural goals that, he argues, are essential to building a union capable of projecting influence and security.
But these ambitions intersect directly with the immediate sanctions fight. If the 21st package cannot close the loopholes he has identified, the credibility problem he warned about will only deepen, potentially complicating future diplomatic and security initiatives.
Internal Tensions Test Unity
The politics behind the new sanctions package are delicate. Borrell’s stance routinely puts him at odds with member states such as Greece and Hungary, which seek to limit the scope of punitive measures.
Greece has significant shipping interests that could be affected by stricter oversight of the tanker fleet, while Hungary has maintained closer economic ties with Russia and often resists new sanctions. Borrell has warned that these internal divisions weaken the EU’s overall credibility and effectiveness in responding to Russian aggression. The challenge of unity is woven into the EU’s institutional fabric.
The union began as a post-war effort to bind European economies together, starting with the Inner Six countries in the late 1940s and evolving through bodies like the European Coal and Steel Community. The Maastricht Treaty in 1993 formally created the EU, its citizenship, and a framework for deeper political and economic integration.
Further expansion followed, with the bloc growing to its current membership through successive accessions. Today, the EU is a political and economic union that coordinates policy in shared areas while maintaining an internal single market. Its unified trade and foreign policy tools, including sanctions, give it global influence far beyond the sum of its parts. But the ability to act as one on matters like security or economic measures depends on consensus among members, making internal divisions a persistent challenge.
This unity is tested whenever the EU seeks to respond to external crises, as member states balance national interests with collective action. What to watch next: whether Greece and Hungary will extract concessions for their support of the 21st package, and whether the measures Borrell has proposed can actually close the loopholes.
If the new package fails to achieve that, the fissures within the bloc — and the risks to its global standing — will only grow harder to manage.
