The European Union is looking to increase the ability of its member states to carry out inspections on Russia’s “shadow fleet” of ageing oil tankers, officials said on Monday, October 20th.
France—which briefly detained one of the vessels recently—has called for tougher actions to crimp the key source of revenues for the Russian war machine.
The 27-nation bloc has already blacklisted hundreds of tankers used by Russia to help circumvent restrictions on its lucrative crude exports. Brussels is now pitching a new proposal to sign agreements with states where the ships are formally registered to facilitate checks.
We are discussing with the member states how to better coordinate our actions regarding the shadow fleet,
EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas said at a meeting with foreign ministers.
Under the proposal seen by AFP, the EU’s diplomatic arm wants member states to agree on a declaration that would allow Brussels to sign deals with flag states.
“EU Member States increasingly demonstrate a renewed momentum for more robust enforcement actions tackling the shadow fleet,” the document circulated by Brussels said.
“The EU could support Member States in their efforts if they agree to grant the EU the right to negotiate agreements on their behalf for pre-authorised boardings for inspections.”
The “shadow fleet problem” can thus become another avenue for Brussels’ centralization of power efforts.
