Talks between European Union (EU) nations on where to set a proposed Group of Seven price cap on Russian oil bogged down Wednesday, as governments split over how to design the plan, according to people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported.
The EU’s executive arm proposed a level of $65 a barrel, which Poland and the Baltic nations rejected as being too generous to Moscow, the people said. But several countries with major shipping industries, including Greece, don’t want to go below $70, the upper end of the range put forward by the EU earlier Wednesday.
The ambassadors of EU countries are planning to hold additional negotiations on Wednesday evening. If no agreement is reached, they may meet on Thursday to continue discussions. EU energy ministers are also set to meet on Thursday to discuss measures to curb natural gas prices.
At $65, the maximum price will be much higher than the cost price of production in Russia. But since Russia already sells its oil at a discount, the price cap is likely to have minimal impact on trade.
The EU and G7 had originally hoped to sign off on the price cap on Wednesday. The approval of the restriction requires the support of all EU member states.
