The president of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen, proposed this Wednesday (05.04.2022) a sixth package of sanctions once morest Russia that includes for the first time a veto on purchases of Russian oil, although it contemplates that it be applied progressively and with exceptions for Hungary and Slovakia.
“We propose a ban on Russian oil. It will be a total import ban on all Russian oil, by sea and by pipeline, crude and refined,” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a speech to the plenary. of the European Parliament, meeting in Strasbourg.
Progressive embargo, with exceptions for Hungary and Slovakia
Brussels proposes that this veto be implemented “in an orderly manner (…) to ensure alternative supply routes and minimize the impact on global markets,” added Von der Leyen, who referred to a veto on crude oil in six months and a embargo on refined products “by the end of the year”.
“Let’s be clear: It won’t be easy. But we just have to work on it. We will make sure we remove Russian oil in an orderly manner. Maximize the pressure on Russia and minimize the impact on our economies,” he wrote on Twitter, where he summarized, by points , his speech to the European Parliament.
“In the latest sanctions package, we started with coal. Now we are proposing to address our dependence on Russian oil. Of course, it will not be easy. Some member states are heavily dependent on Russian oil,” von der Leyen added.
In the absence of the Commission publishing the details of the sanctions proposal, which must be approved unanimously by the twenty-seven Member States of the European Union, European sources indicated that Hungary and Slovakia, which are totally dependent on Russian oil and have no way out to the sea, they might have more time.
Against banks and those responsible for massacres
Likewise, the European Union (EU) intends to exclude three other Russian banks from the SWIFT interbank system, including Sberbank, the largest bank in Russia, as part of a new package of sanctions, the president of the European Commission also announced.
Hitting “banks of critical systemic importance to the Russian financial system” will reinforce Russia’s “total isolation” and weaken its ability to finance the war in Ukraine, von der Leyen told the European Parliament.
In addition, Von der Leyen proposed punishing the people and entities responsible for or involved in some way in the documented massacres of civilians in towns such as Bucha or in the coastal city of Mariupol, practically devastated by Russian attacks.
“We will punish high-ranking military officers and other individuals who committed war crimes in Bucha and who are responsible for the inhumane siege of the city of Mariupol,” Von der Leyen announced before the European Parliament.
First direct measures for massacres
This is the first time that the EU specifically sanctions those involved in the massacres of civilians in Ukraine, images that went around the world following the departure of the Russian army from several towns on the outskirts of kyiv, from where as of the date of This Monday, up to 1,202 civilian bodies had been recovered.
Also Mariúpol, which initially had a population of almost half a million inhabitants, has been practically devastated by Russian attacks, whose troops assure that they have already gained control of the entire city, with the exception of the Azovstal steel plant.
The Ukrainian authorities point out that more than 10,000 inhabitants still remain in the ruins of the city without water, electricity or basic products and denounce that Moscow has blocked attempts to bring humanitarian aid to the area.
Recovery package for Ukraine
“We want Ukraine to win this war. However, much has to be rebuilt. That is why I propose to start work on an ambitious recovery package for our Ukrainian friends,” von der Leyen tweeted regarding his speech to the European Parliament.
“This package must bring massive investment to meet the needs and the necessary reforms,” he said.
Sixth round of sanctions: definitive?
These restrictive measures are added to those once morest 680 individuals and 53 Russian entities related to the invasion of Ukraine that the EU has applied since the end of February, which include Russian President Vladimir Putin, his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov; and a large group of oligarchs close to the Kremlin.
Those sanctioned under this regime are prohibited from traveling to European territory and have their assets frozen in the EU; European citizens or entities are also prohibited from placing funds at their disposal. “This sends another important signal to all those who perpetrate the Kremlin war: we know who they are and they will be held accountable,” Von der Leyen insisted now.
The five previous corrective rounds once morest Moscow and its ally Minsk sought, in short, to prohibit transactions with the Central Bank of Russia and freeze part of its assets, cut off traffic to Russian ships and planes, hinder transactions by its banks or prevent certain exports.
The last of these packages included an embargo on Russian coal starting in August, becoming the first punishment for the energy sector and cutting off the entry into the EU of a hydrocarbon for which Russia received 5.4 billion euros in 2021, according to Eurostat. . In that exercise, Russia also entered 17,300 million euros from the EU for gas sales and 74,000 million for oil.
According to the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), the European Union has bought more than 52,000 million euros in energy products from Russia since the invasion of Ukraine (20,600 million in oil, 30,500 million in gas and 860 million in coal). ).
rml (efe, afp, @vonderleyen, last update at 9:58 CET)
