European Commissioner for Economic Affairs Valdis Dombrovskis has said that the European Union was “surprised” by the UK’s decision to weaken part of the sanctions against Russian oil. He said this during a press conference in Brussels on 21 May, Radio Liberty correspondent reports.
He said the move was not discussed during the G7 finance ministers’ meeting and contradicts current calls by allies to increase pressure on Moscow.
“It was not mentioned during the meeting of G7 finance ministers earlier this week, so it came as a surprise,” Dombrovskis said.
According to the European commissioner, at the G7 meeting the allies, on the contrary, discussed the need to maintain or even strengthen sanctions against Russia, as Moscow is making additional profits due to rising energy prices amid the war between Iran and Israel.
“Now is not the time to ease sanctions against Russia because Russia will actually benefit from the Iran war, making significant super-profits because of higher energy prices. It is therefore important to maintain sanctions and, if anything, to strengthen them in the current situation,” the European Commissioner said.
He added that the EU will continue to insist on such a position in contacts with international partners, particularly the UK.
Earlier, the UK authorised the import of diesel and jet fuel produced from Russian oil in third countries. The corresponding General Trade Licence, published by the UK’s Financial Sanctions Implementation Authority, came into force on 20 May 2026.
London has also issued a separate licence for the maritime transport of liquefied natural gas and related services under the sanctions regime against Russia.
UK Trade Policy Minister Chris Bryant later apologised for the government’s decision, calling it “clumsy”. According to Bloomberg, British officials acknowledged that the move weakens allies’ arguments in favour of maintaining and increasing sanctions pressure on Russia.