February 24th marks the second anniversary of the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The EU wants to demonstrate once again that it will never accept aggression.
Brussels – On the second anniversary of the war in Ukraine, the EU is preparing a new package of sanctions against Russia. According to information from the German Press Agency, it provides for a significant expansion of the list of people and institutions whose assets in the EU must be frozen.
In addition, other companies that contribute to Russia's military and technological strengthening or to the development of its defense and security sector should also be sanctioned. No more military-use goods and technologies will be allowed to be sold to them from the EU.
Most recently, the EU also used this instrument to target companies based in China, Uzbekistan, Iran and the United Arab Emirates and which are said to be involved in circumventing EU punitive measures.
More than 200 new destinations?
According to dpa information, the specific proposals for what is now the 13th sanctions package were presented to representatives of the member states by top officials of the EU Commission over the weekend. The next step is to develop a draft sanction decision, which all 27 member states must then formally agree to. According to the plans, significantly more than 200 people and companies could be affected by the additional punitive measures.
The last EU sanctions package against Russia to date included, among other things, the ban on importing diamonds and diamond jewelry from Russia into the European Union. There has long been a far-reaching import ban on crude oil, coal, steel, gold and luxury goods, as well as punitive measures against banks and financial institutions.
Extraordinary returns for Ukraine?
On the anniversary of the war of aggression, in addition to the 13th sanctions package, the long-planned skimming of proceeds from the custody of frozen Russian central bank funds for Ukraine could also be decided.
According to diplomats, the agreed procedure envisages, as a first step, ensuring that the extraordinary income from the custody of assets of the Russian Central Bank is kept separately. In a second step, it is planned to forward part of the funds to Ukraine, which is being attacked by Russia. However, further legal texts still need to be developed for this.
According to estimates, a sum in the billions could be incurred every year, since, according to the Commission, more than 200 billion euros from the Russian central bank have been frozen in the EU and the income from the custody of the capital is constantly increasing. dpa
#plans #Russia #sanctions
