State of the Union is our weekly present from the place Euronews brings you the highest tales from round Europe.
This week, makes an attempt to carry Russia to its knees economically suffered a setback.
The OPEC Plus oil cartel, pushed by Saudi Arabia and Russia, agreed to a manufacturing minimize of two million barrels a day to boost costs, countering efforts by america and Europe to squeeze the large income that Moscow reaps from the sale of crude oil.
The choice got here because the EU cobbled collectively its newest package deal of sanctions towards Russia over the unlawful annexation of 4 Ukrainian provinces.
European Political Group holds inaugural assembly
Convening for the primary time in Prague on Thursday, the European Political Group introduced collectively all 27 members of the EU, and different European nations comparable to Norway, the UK, Turkey and Ukraine.
The brand new discussion board is a part of French President Emmanuel Macron's long-standing quest to forge a united Europe of impartial power. Whether or not the group will dwell as much as that ambition stays to be seen.
The leaders are aiming to handle challenges together with Russia, which has lately multiplied its risk to make use of nuclear weapons.
"This isn't the primary time Putin has resorted to such a risk," stated Annalena Baerbock, German Overseas Minister.
"It's irresponsible. We have now to take it severely, simply as we take the whole lot severely. However it's also, and we all know this from the 200-plus days of this brutal battle of aggression, an try to blackmail us."
Mariana Budjeryn, senior analysis affiliate and nuclear safety specialist on the Harvard Kennedy College's Belfer Centre instructed Euronews the identical factor -- that the West ought to take the Russian president's nuclear threats severely.
"The threats that we heard emanating from him go nicely past what we understood Russian nuclear doctrine to have been with the permissible use of nuclear weapons," stated Budjeryn. "And so, I feel it's one thing we must always pay very, very shut consideration to.
New EU sanctions
Recent sanctions towards Russia have been additionally authorised by the EU on Thursday, together with a value cap on the maritime commerce of Russian oil. They got here in direct response to Russia's unlawful annexation of 4 Ukrainian areas final week.
The worth cap on oil was agreed upon in precept by the G7 and Brussels in early September.
They now intend to forbid their insurance coverage and transport companies from offering providers to Russian corporations that promote oil at a value that exceeds the agreed-upon cap.
Business oil tankers additionally want insurance coverage to cowl the prices of incidents past their management, comparable to delays, injury to provides, theft, and even battle.
The most recent sanctions additionally introduce new exports and imports ban, in addition to a brand-new provision that forestalls EU nationals from sitting on governing boards of Russia's state-owned corporations.
New people and entities accused of undermining Ukraine's territorial sovereignty have been added to the intensive blacklist.
Fossil fuels are Russia's major income and make-up 45% of the nation's federal funds.
EU leaders talk about fuel cap
EU nations additionally gathered to debate a doable value cap on fuel imports and transactions at an off-the-cuff assembly in Prague on Friday.
A letter penned by von der Leyen on Wednesday served as foundation for discussions, after she advised a brand new set of emergency measures to tame the skyrocketing electrical energy payments that households and corporations are dealing with, that are strongly pushed by fuel costs.
Whereas no formal determination was made, there are some concepts on the desk which have gained consensus, comparable to a joint procurement scheme to purchase power subsequent yr.
"One factor could be very clear, there may be broad assist that, subsequent spring, on the finish of the winter, when our storages will likely be depleted, it's of paramount significance that we have now a joint buying procurement of fuel in order that we keep away from to chunk one another and that we have now collective bargaining energy," the European Fee president stated on Friday.
Leaders will meet once more in two weeks in Brussels, the place they goal to succeed in an settlement on one of the best ways to reform the power market in an effort to curb rising payments.
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