Not unexpectedly, Europe is divided on the sanctions against Russia. Germany, Italy, Cyprus, and maybe the Netherlands seem to have blocked Russia’s exclusion from the international finance system SWIFT (Guardian).
One reason behind Germany’s position is the fear that without SWIFT it can’t pay for the Russian gas it depends on (FAZ—in German) for heating and for electricity.
Not unexpectedly, Europe is divided on the sanctions against Russia. Germany, Italy, Cyprus, and maybe the Netherlands seem to have blocked Russia’s exclusion from the international finance system SWIFT (Guardian).
One reason behind Germany’s position is the fear that without SWIFT it can’t pay for the Russian gas it depends on (FAZ—in German) for heating and for electricity.
Germany has updated its position and a SWIFT ban is now in the works: https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/26/politics/biden-ukraine-russia-swift/index.html