Greece stalls new EU sanctions package against russia over gas business - FT

Greece did not support the European Union’s 21st package of sanctions against russia, causing its adoption to be postponed. The reason was Athens’ concerns about the consequences for the shipping company Dynagas, which transports russian liquefied natural gas.

It was reported by the Financial Times.

According to the publication, during a meeting of EU ambassadors, the Greek representative stated that the proposed ban on the transport of russian LNG to third countries could seriously harm Dynagas’s business. As a result, Athens is not yet ready to agree to the new sanctions package.

As the FT notes, it was Greece’s position that delayed the approval of the sanctions by at least a week. Unanimous support from all EU member states is required to adopt such decisions.

The new package of restrictions includes sanctions against additional russian banks, defense industry companies, and cryptocurrency networks, as well as tighter controls on the export of russian energy resources. A separate provision introduces a new mechanism to cap prices on russian oil.

Due to a lack of consensus, EU countries have temporarily extended the current “price cap” on Russian oil at USD 44.10 per barrel to allow time for further negotiations.

Dynagas is owned by Greek shipowner Georgios Prokopiou. The company operates a fleet of gas carriers, including specialized Arc7 icebreaking tankers used to transport liquefied natural gas from russia’s “Yamal LNG” project.

According to the Financial Times, since the beginning of 2025, Dynagas vessels have transported more than 10 million metric tons of russian LNG. Greece believes that, due to the specific nature of these tankers, it would be difficult to reroute them to other routes in the event of new sanctions.

At the same time, a number of EU countries insist that economic losses are an inevitable price to pay for increasing pressure on russia. Earlier, the head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, stated that she regretted the lack of agreement on a new sanctions package and did not rule out seeking alternative solutions.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, European Union countries were unable to agree on the 21st package of sanctions against russia—the aggressor nation—for its full-scale war against Ukraine.