Europe should levy a high tariff on Russian energy
Imposing sanctions on oil and gas is worth the economic costs
EVEN AS RUSSIA has invaded Ukraine, terrorised civilians and flattened Mariupol, the European Union has spent €44bn ($46bn) buying its oil and gas. That could be about to change. On April 27th Russia announced that it had stopped supplying gas to Bulgaria and Poland, which had refused its demand to pay in roubles. Because the EU can easily buy oil, but not gas, from elsewhere, Russia is attempting to exploit its point of vulnerability.
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “The case for energy sanctions”
From the April 30th 2022 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Leaders
Sir Keir Starmer should aim higher in his reset with the EU
And he needs to be clearer about what Britain wants
To make electricity cheaper and greener, connect the world’s grids
Less than 3% of the world’s power is internationally traded—a huge wasted opportunity
Chinese AI is catching up, posing a dilemma for Donald Trump
The success of cheap Chinese models threatens America’s technological lead
America has an imperial presidency
And in Donald Trump, an imperialist president for the first time in over a century
Tariffs will harm America, not induce a manufacturing rebirth
Donald Trump’s pursuit of tariffs will make the world poorer—and America, too
How to improve clinical trials
Involving more participants can lead to new medical insights