Germany, as part of the discussion of possible sanctions against Russia, took the issue of disconnecting the country from SWIFT off the table, Euractiv writes.
"While oil and gas are considered as possible leverage, one EU diplomat said that opposition led by Germany appeared to have taken a proposal to sever Moscow from the global SWIFT payment system off the table," the article reads.
One senior EU official told reporters that if decided and needed, such punitive measures could be imposed “in a matter of days”.