European Union ambassadors convened an emergency meeting in Brussels on Tuesday afternoon in a last-ditch attempt to agree the bloc’s 21st sanctions package against Russia before a midnight deadline. Failure to reach consensus would trigger an automatic upward recalculation of the G7 oil price cap, a mechanism designed to limit Moscow’s crude export earnings. EU diplomats in Brussels confirmed that the package had already been stripped of several proposed measures after individual member states raised objections, but core disagreements persisted.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys described a widening rift within the union, stating that member states increasingly place their own economic interests above the need to tighten restrictions on Russia. According to Budrys, the main obstacle remains the treatment of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments. While a price cap already applies to oil products, no equivalent mechanism covers LNG, and a group of countries is resisting a proposed ban on European-flagged vessels transporting the fuel. Separately, Austria has sought to shield Raiffeisen Bank International from new sanctions, reviving a long-running dispute linked to the bank’s frozen stake in construction group Strabag. The European Central Bank has separately pressed the lender to slash its Russian loan book by 65 percent by 2026.

Trade in Russian fish has emerged as a further flashpoint. European Commission data shows that the EU imported 75,525 tonnes of Russian Atlantic cod in 2024, valued at €619 million, accounting for nearly a quarter of the bloc’s total cod imports. Germany, France, the Netherlands, Poland and Portugal have all opposed an import ban, according to Swedish and French press reports. Earlier in the negotiations, Bulgaria blocked measures targeting the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, and Germany objected to a proposed halt on imports of Russian Alaska pollock. A planned visa ban on Russian nationals who fought in Ukraine was also significantly diluted.

The 21st package, initially drafted to include 250 individuals and entities as well as 90 Russian banks, has been under discussion since April. The Irish presidency of the EU called the extraordinary ambassadorial session to seek a compromise, with diplomats indicating that the fish ban was likely to be dropped to secure broader agreement. The outcome will determine whether the oil price cap is automatically adjusted, a step that EU officials in Brussels caution could undermine the sanctions regime’s economic pressure on Moscow. A decision is expected before the end of the day.