Foreign media: The West is worried about rising oil prices and easing restrictions on Russian oil trade

European governments have eased efforts to restrict Russian oil trade, delaying plans to exclude Russia from the vital Lloyd's marine insurance market and allowing some international shipments
amid concerns about rising crude prices and tightening global energy supplies, the Financial Times reported on August 1.

The European Union announced a global ban on marine insurance for ships carrying Russian oil two months ago and expects coordinated action
with the British government.
However, the UK has yet to introduce similar restrictions
.
The UK's involvement is crucial to the effectiveness of any such ban, as London is the centre of
the marine insurance industry.

Meanwhile, Brussels revised some restrictions on transactions with Russian state-owned enterprises in late July, citing concerns about
global energy security.

A joint UK and EU ban on marine insurance would constitute the most comprehensive restriction on Russian oil to date, ending most of Moscow's exports of global tankers
.

But U.
S.
officials fear that an immediate global ban on marine insurance would push up prices
by pulling millions of barrels of Russian crude and oil products out of the market.

In May, European and British officials told the Financial Times that Britain had reached an agreement with the European Union to coordinate a ban
on insuring Russian oil cargoes.

However, the latest sanctions against Russia, approved by the British Parliament in July, only banned the provision of insurance
to ships transporting Russian oil to the UK after December 31.
The legislation comes after the British government pledged to ban imports of Russian oil from the end of the year, but not to provide services to goods from Russia to other countries, British officials said
.

"There is currently no ban in the UK affecting the global shipment of Russian oil," said Patrick Davidson, underwriting director at Lloyds Markets
.
The association is an industry organization
for Lloyds.
"Given the global nature of the (reinsurance) industry, the existence of EU restrictions is likely to affect Russia's willingness to
transport oil in London.
"

Lloyds is in close contact with (the British government) and "will work with them to resolve any sanctions
they seek to impose in the future," he said.
”

The EU's insurance ban was introduced on June 4 and is still in place
.
It prevents companies within the group from underwriting new insurance
for any ships transporting Russian oil.
The existing contract is valid until December 5, at which time all such operations will be prohibited
.

However, the EU has amended some of its sanctions to allow European companies to trade with Russian state-owned entities such as Rosneft in order to transport oil to countries
outside the EU.

A spokesman for the European Commission told the Financial Times that "if these transactions are absolutely necessary", European companies will no longer be prevented from paying Rosneft for the purchase or transportation of crude oil or petroleum products to third countries
.

In a statement, the EU said the measures were taken to "avoid any potential negative impact on global food and energy security.
"

Since June, the White House has been pushing the G7 to support a price cap mechanism that would allow some Russian oil to enter third countries
as long as Russia agrees to buy goods at below-market prices.

Washington officials said the United States and Britain still plan to ban maritime services
, including insurance, before the EU ban takes full effect in December.
But they want to set a cap
on oil prices first.
Biden is keen to lower gasoline prices
ahead of the November midterm elections.

The EU appears to have taken a dovish stance on efforts to stem the global flow of Russian oil, sanctions lawyers said, and traders have created new uncertainty
about Britain's commitment to a global insurance ban.

Sarah Hunt, a partner at law firm HFW, said trading companies were asking whether it was legal
to buy Russian oil now and ship it to countries outside the EU.
"The new EU sanctions actually allow European companies to lift the embargo
on Russian crude oil," she said.
We were surprised
by this.
”
。