For several weeks, Greece held up the European Union’s 21st package of sanctions on Russia over a single shipping company. The Financial Times reported on 16 July that Athens had blocked approval out of concern that a ban on carrying Russian liquefied natural gas to third countries would do serious damage.
The company was Dynagas, owned by the billionaire George Prokopiou. Greece demanded an exemption so that Dynagas ships could keep transporting Russian LNG, and made that exemption its main condition for signing off on the package. Greek officials argued that the LNG shipping ban had been approved in error. They said it would hurt Dynagas rather than the Russian economy, and that it would benefit rival shipowners from China and other countries outside the EU.
A delayed package
European Pravda reported on 15 July that approval had been pushed back by at least a week because Greece and Austria objected to certain provisions. EU ambassadors had already failed to agree on 13 July and again on 14 July. A new attempt was scheduled for a meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives, known as Coreper, on 22 July.
Greece was not the only objector. Bulgaria said it would block the package because Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church had been added to the sanctions list, and Italy also expressed concern. Kirill and the Russian oligarch Vagit Alekperov were ultimately removed from the list.
The previous package had been approved on 15 June. It targeted Russia’s military-industrial complex, its shadow fleet and the networks supporting Moscow’s hybrid operations against Europe. On 13 July, the EU separately imposed sanctions on Russia’s VK Company, or VKontakte, and its subsidiary Communication Platform, which develops the MAX app.
Greece gets its exemption
The Financial Times reported that Greece refused to approve the package until other EU countries agreed to exempt Dynagas. It got the exemption, which lets the shipments continue. According to the paper, that was the first relaxation of the EU’s broader economic sanctions against Russia. Several EU diplomats involved in the talks were unhappy with the outcome, and one was quoted as saying: “I no longer want to hear anyone talk about ‘solidarity.’”
A rethink in Brussels
The episode has European officials looking at changing how sanctions are packaged. Three sources told the Financial Times the EU wants to curb the tactic of a single state holding up the rest, which has become increasingly common. Since February 2022 the bloc has approved 21 packages, grouping measures together and requiring collective approval. Lately, vetoes over individual measures have delayed unrelated restrictions that every EU capital supports.
One idea is to split sanctions into smaller “thematic packages” instead of large sets. Officials are also exploring ways to fast-track more targeted financial restrictions. “This could be the last ‘package’ of sanctions. It is now quite obvious that this approach no longer works,” one source said.
