BRUSSELS — The EU’s economy chief criticized the U.K.’s decision to loosen planned sanctions on Russian-origin jet fuel and diesel without giving prior notice to fellow G7 allies.

The U.K. issued a sanctions licence on Tuesday exempting jet fuel and diesel from a new import ban on oil products made from Russian crude but refined in India or other third countries, a decision which “came as a surprise,” according to Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis.

During a press conference on Thursday, the Latvian economist took aim at the U.K. for failing to raise its plans during the meeting of G7 finance ministers, which took place in Paris on Monday and Tuesday, and where U.K. Chancellor Rachel Reeves was in attendance.

“It was not flagged during our G7 finance ministerial meeting earlier this week, so came as a surprise,” Dombrovskis said.

“What we were discussing in G7 [is] actually that now is not the time to roll back sanctions against Russia because Russia is actually the country that is benefiting from the war in Iran and having substantial windfall profits due to the higher energy prices,” he added.

“It is important to sustain and, if anything, strengthen sanctions against Russia in [the] current situation and that’s the point we’ll continue to insist on with our international partners including the U.K.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer defended the move on Wednesday, telling MPs that the U.K. had issued “two targeted short-term licenses to phase the new sanctions in and protect U.K. consumers.”

The move was “partly” prompted by the need to protect British businesses from “instability” in energy markets sparked by the Middle East conflict, Trade Minister Chris Bryant told MPs on Wednesday.

According to figures from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, the two fuels represent 99 percent of U.K. imports from refineries processing Russian crude, meaning their exemption effectively neuters the new sanction policy, which was announced in October last year. The EU implemented a similar ban in January.

Asked about Dombrovskis’ comments, a spokesperson for Starmer said on Thursday that the U.K. had worked “closely with international partners including the EU to finalize details” of the sanctions package. Asked whether the specific exemptions had been discussed, the spokesperson said the EU had been consulted on “the overall package.”

The U.K.’s Ukrainian allies also appear to have been blindsided by the move. A U.K. official, granted anonymity as they were not authorized to speak on the record, claimed the government had failed to warn its Ukrainian counterparts.

Starmer spoke to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday night and insisted the U.K. was “ramping up measures to crack down on Russia’s economy,” according to a Downing Street readout of the call.

Zelenskyy said on Wednesday the issue of sanctions was “very sensitive” and that Ukraine had “conveyed our signals on the matter to London.”

Trade Minister Bryant apologized on Wednesday for what he characterized as communication failures around the new sanctions, but insisted that the exemptions for jet fuel and diesel would be “temporary” and that the government would “suspend them as soon as we possibly can.”

Emilio Casalicchio contributed reporting