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Did the EU's oil embargo mark a turning point?
Summary
A look back at the energy and sanctions decisions taken in Europe in the last days of May 2022.
What did Europe decide on energy as May 2022 drew to a close? On 31 May 2022, the day's economic picture rested on a decision reached a day earlier: on 30 May, after weeks of deliberations, all European Union member states agreed to impose an embargo on most oil imports from Russia.
The embargo exempted oil delivered by pipeline and was due to be fully implemented by the end of the year. The same agreement cut Sberbank off from SWIFT.
A separate move showed how individual countries were adjusting. On 26 May, Italian fossil fuel company Eni signed an agreement with Algerian state-owned company Sonatrach to explore up to 3 billion cubic metres of gas and to launch a pilot green hydrogen project in the Algerian desert. The deal came as Italy looked to reduce its dependence on Russian gas in light of the conflict in Ukraine.
Together, the two developments marked a week in which Europe moved both collectively and nationally to loosen its energy ties with Russia.
