Europe has imposed numerous sanctions on Russia since the Ukraine conflict began. Photo: Getty
The European Union’s (EU) debates over new sanctions against Russia are at an impasse as the bloc has imposed every possible major sanctions on the country, the European Council president said. Europe Charles Michel said on February 20.
In an interview with Belgian newspaper LeSoir, he said each new package of penalties now aims to “tighten loopholes and prevent fraud attempts”, as all major sanctions have is applied.
“We’ve already imposed sanctions on fossil fuels… Once you’ve taken the main steps, you don’t have much to do,” added Michel.
Last month, during a trip to Kiev to visit Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Michel acknowledged that negotiations over further sanctions had become increasingly complicated.
“Each debate about new sanctions is much more difficult than the previous one,” he said.
The EU’s tenth package of sanctions against Russia, currently under discussion, is said to be worth 11 billion euros ($11.7 billion) and will focus on stopping sales to Moscow of potentially high-tech goods. can be used in weapon systems.
According to the report, the export “blacklist” will include electronic equipment, lasers, radio equipment, software, avionics, marine cameras and rare earth minerals, as well as components Other specific parts are used in nanotechnology.
The sanctions are expected to target many Russian corporations, adding Alfa Bank, Rosbank and Tinkoff Bank to the EU’s blacklist. The new sanctions will also ban Russian residents from holding posts in the regulatory bodies of important European companies and restrict the provision of gas storage capacity to entities established in Russia.
So far, Brussels has applied nine packages of sanctions against Russia, targeting many sectors of the economy, as well as businessmen, politicians and journalists.