Who keeps the Russian shadow fleet afloat?

About this episode

The episode discusses the support system for Russia's shadow fleet amidst EU sanctions and highlights ongoing issues related to rule of law reforms and health responses to the Ebola outbreak.

As the EU prepares to target Russia’s shadow fleet in the 21st sanctions package, we’re looking at the system that keeps these ships in business. Every one of these Russian vessels carrying sanctioned goods requires port access, crews, financial services and more to stay operational. On today’s episode, Zoya Sheftalovich and Sarah Wheaton pinpoint insurance in particular. They explain how, even though European insurers pulled away from Russian-linked business after the invasion of Ukraine, some financial institutions are still supporting these ships. Also on the pod, Michael McGrath, Commissioner for justice and rule of law, arrives in Hungary today. His visit comes as Prime Minister Péter Magyar is racing to pass the rule of law reforms needed to finally unlock billions of euros in EU funds. And finally: Europe is on Ebola watch. EU health ministers are preparing to coordinate as the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda grows and suspected cases test Europe’s response systems. Is your birthday coming up? Let us know and we can give you a shout out on the pod! Send us a message or a voice note on our WhatsApp here or at +32 491 05 06 29. Learn more about your…

People in this episode

Hosts: Zoya Sheftalovich, Sarah Wheaton

Topics covered

• Russian shadow fleet
• EU sanctions
• insurance
• rule of law reforms
• Ebola watch
• financial services

Keywords

• Russian shadow fleet
• EU sanctions
• insurance
• rule of law
• Ebola outbreak
• financial services
• port access

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: EU

Places: Hungary, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda

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