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Why Greece opposed
According to the FT, during a meeting of EU ambassadors, a representative of Greece said that the proposed sanctions could effectively destroy the business of Dynagas, which is owned by Greek shipping magnate George Prokopiou.
Dynagas specializes in the transportation of liquefied natural gas, in particular, it participates in servicing the Russian Yamal LNG project. According to the publication's estimates, since the beginning of 2025 alone, the company has transported more than 10 million tons of Russian gas, making 144 flights.
Other EU countries emphasize that sanctions will inevitably cause economic losses to individual companies, but this is a necessary price for increasing pressure on Russia.
What the new package of sanctions entails
In addition to restrictions on the transportation of Russian LNG to third countries, the 21st package of sanctions includes new measures against Russian banks, military-industrial complex enterprises and cryptocurrency networks that can be used to circumvent current restrictions.
The EU also plans to update the mechanism for limiting the price of Russian oil. While the negotiations are ongoing, the member countries have agreed to temporarily extend the current price limit at the level 44.10 dollars per barrel, to prevent automatic ceiling increases due to changes in market prices.
What does this mean
The delay in approving the new package demonstrates that even despite the general support for sanctions within the EU, individual countries continue to defend their own economic interests. For Russia, this means a temporary postponement of the introduction of new restrictions, while the European Union will have to find a compromise that will allow preserving the unity of the sanctions policy without excessive losses for individual member states.