BRUSSELS, July 24. /TASS/. The European Union has approved a legal mechanism under its 21st package of sanctions against Russia that paves the way for the confiscation and sale of Russian oil seized from blacklisted tankers owned by third countries, according to a Council of the EU regulation published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

The regulation authorizes national competent authorities "to dispose safely of Russian oil cargoes they seize and confiscate," including through "import, transfer, storage, management and sale." It specifies that such operations must not result "in any payment or making available of funds or economic resources for the benefit of Russian natural or legal persons."

The mechanism provides the first explicit legal basis for confiscating and selling Russian oil seized from tankers placed on the EU’s sanctions list.

The EU has so far blacklisted more than 670 tankers flying foreign flags that it says transport Russian oil in violation of the Western price cap of $44.1 per barrel. Until now, EU countries were primarily empowered to detain such tankers for inspections, and the new mechanism broadens their authority.