Poland pushes for EU duty on Russian pipeline oil

Poland has been garnering support among EU member states to impose a duty on Russian oil delivered through pipelines, as part of a new package of sanctions.

The European Commission (EC) is expected to present its seventh package of sanctions on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine on Friday.

If presented by the EC, the new sanctions will be discussed by the foreign ministers of EU member states next Monday and adopted a few days later.

The Polish ambassador to the EU, Andrzej Sadoś, confirmed that the EC had been working on the latest package and said Poland wanted to see more restrictions on Russian oil.

"We want the imposition of EU duties on Russian oil delivered to the EU through pipelines, which is now exempt from sanctions," Sadoś said. "Our proposal is supported by Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands and Denmark."

In the previous package of sanctions, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia were given preferential conditions as they are highly dependent on Russian oil.

The three countries are unlikely to agree to a full embargo of Russian oil, hence the Polish proposal.

An EU source told PAP that the bloc wanted to avoid controversy in its latest sanctions package.

"The package seeks to impose sanctions on gold and high-tech products," the PAP source said. "The EC would like to avoid controversial issues in the package so that it could be passed quickly."

Additionally, some 50 people, mainly families of Russian oligarchs, are to be hit by new restrictions.

According to the source, broader sanctions are to be adopted after the summer holidays.