European Union News

EU-based companies will be prohibited from selling Russian liquefied natural gas next year, even if buyers are located outside the EU, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Thursday."The ban prohibits companies to trade/market Russian LNG to third countries as it is not relevant whether the Russian LNG is destined for the EU or not," said the letter dated June 1 from the office of EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen, addressed to Poten and Partners, a shipping brokerage and…

The European Union has proposed that the bloc's Aspides naval mission take "the primary role" in clearing mines in the Strait of Hormuz "when conditions allow" as part of a Franco-British-led initiative, according to a document seen by Reuters.The European External Action Service wrote in a note dated May 26 and sent to member states that "the situation requires the Union to provide a meaningful contribution" to a coalition led by France and Britain "to be materialised once conditions allow and separated from the belligerents".Changing the Aspides mission's mandate would require unanimity…

The EU will temporarily lift customs duties on key nitrogen-based fertilizers such as urea and ammonia for one year to mitigate the knock-on effects of the Iran war, the Council of the EU said on Friday.Global fertiliser prices have jumped following the near total closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow shipping route along Iran's coast through which around one-third of global fertiliser trade passes.While the EU does not depend on the nitrogen-based fertilisers, namely urea…

European Union countries agreed on Friday to keep pushing for a global price on shipping's CO2 emissions in U.N. talks next week, setting up another potential clash with the United States over the proposal.Governments at the International Maritime Organization decided last year to postpone the climate plan by a year, after the Trump administration strongly opposed the measure and threatened to impose sanctions and visa restrictions on delegates who supported it.That has not stopped European countries attempting to revive the plan…

Interferry, the global voice of the ferry industry, endorsed the European Commission’s launch of the Industrial Maritime Strategy and the inherent critical recognition of the ferry sector’s strategic importance. Notably, the push for Member States to reinvest EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) revenues into maritime decarbonization aligns directly with Interferry’s long-standing recommendations.The strategy notes that the maritime industry faces annual financing needs for fleet decarbonization estimated between USD$2.78billion and 9.86 billion (2.4 billion and 8.5 billion Euro).

The European Commission adopted the 15th edition of the European List of Ship Recycling Facilities which includes the first shipyard approved in Germany, located in Emden.The list renews the inclusion of four EU shipyards in Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania and Spain. Another in Türkiye has also been renewed.Three shipyards have been removed from the list, including a Finnish shipyard that chose not to renew its authorisation, and one in Northern Ireland that failed to provide the necessary information for renewal.

A total of 45 European transport organizations are joining forces and collectively urge national governments to strengthen European funding for transport under the future EU budget, particularly to increase the budget of the future Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) to at least USD$117 billion (€100 billion).A robust European transport network is of crucial importance in responding to Europe’s strategic objectives. Only with strong transport infrastructure at its core, will Europe be able to ramp up its resilience and military preparedness…

The European Commission on Friday proposed a sweeping ban on any services that support Russia's seaborne crude oil exports, going far beyond previous piecemeal EU sanctions in its effort to stunt Moscow's key source of income for its war on Ukraine.Russia exports over a third of its oil in Western tankers - mostly from Greece, Cyprus and Malta - with the help of Western shipping services.The ban would end that practice, which mostly supplies India and China, and render obsolete…

India stopped exporting diesel to the European Union this month due to the European Union's ban on fuel derived from Russian crude and instead sent a record amount to West Africa, shipping data from Kpler and Vortexa showed, while Turkey's diesel exports to the EU slowed in recent months.The developments highlight that the EU policy, aimed at punishing Russia over its 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, is prompting a further reordering of intercontinental oil flows, forcing…

An oil tanker under EU sanctions for carrying Russian oil is being escorted to Tanger Med in Morocco by a Spanish rescue ship, Spain's Merchant Marine said on Tuesday.The Chariot Tide, which was sailing under a Mozambique flag and until November was known as the Marabella Sun, has been on an EU sanctions list since November 2024 for helping Russia export oil "while practicing irregular and high-risk shipping practices," according to the European Union. It has also been sanctioned by the UK…

The European Union should ban companies from providing any support to Moscow's oil and gas-shipping fleet, introduce sanctions against Russian fertilisers and stop luxury goods exports to Russia, Sweden's foreign minister said on Monday.The 27-nation bloc is currently preparing its 20th sanctions package aimed at punishing Russia for its war in Ukraine. Previous sanctions have focused heavily on hobbling its oil and gas sector, the Kremlin's primary source of revenues."The pressure on Russia has to be increased…

The European Union has adopted fresh sanctions targeting companies and individuals accused of helping Moscow to circumvent Western sanctions on oil exports that help to fund Russia's war in Ukraine.The EU has imposed 19 packages of sanctions so far, but Moscow has managed to adapt to most measures and is still selling millions of barrels of oil to India and China, albeit at discounts to global prices. Much of this is transported using a so-called shadow fleet of vessels operating…