Diplomats reported on Thursday that the European Union approved a fourteenth package of sanctions for Russia's war in Ukraine. This included a ban on the re-export of Russian LNG in EU waters.

The Belgian government, which currently holds the rotating EU Presidency until July 1, stated on the X Platform that the package would "maximise the impact of current sanctions by closing loopholes".

The countries debated these new measures for more than a month, and at Germany's insistence, they diluted one of the Commission proposals to prevent even further circumvention.

The measure that was dropped would have required subsidiaries of EU firms in third-country countries to contractually ban the reexport of their goods to Russia. The EU wants to stop dual-use technologies, such as chips for washing machines that Russia could use for military purposes.

A diplomat from the EU said that Germany had requested an impact assessment and the measure would be added at a future date.

This is the first time the EU has imposed a restriction on LNG. Gas market analysts say that the ban will not have much impact, as Europe still buys Russian gas and only 10% of Russian LNG is trans-shipped via EU ports.