The European Union on Friday adopted a fifth set of sanctions once morest Russia targeting for the first time imports of Russian energy into the EU.
In addition to new export and import bans worth several billion euros in various sectors, as well as new financial and banking sanctions, the measures concern no less than 217 new personalities and 18 entities involved in the war in Ukraine.
Thus, the Russian coal import ban covers all forms of coal, i.e. a quarter of Russian coal exports, which represents a loss of revenue of 8 billion euros per year for Russia compared to 2021. , according to the Commission and the Council.
For existing contracts, a resilience period of four months is provided. The EU imports 45% of its coal from Russia.
The idea of an embargo on all forms of Russian fossil and nuclear fuels received the support of the European Parliament on Thursday, while Council President Charles Michel considered on Tuesday that the European Union should take sanctions “sooner or later” on Russian oil and gas. The European Commission and EU Foreign Affairs (EEAS) have already announced that they are drawing up proposals for additional sanctions including oil.
Another novelty of this 5th set of sanctions, road transport and maritime freight are also targeted. No truck registered in Russia or Belarus will no longer be able to enter the EU, just as no ship flying the Russian flag will no longer be able to enter EU ports.
At the financial level, four of the seven Russian banks which had already been excluded from the SWIFT interbank messaging network are now prevented from carrying out any transaction within the EU: their assets have been frozen completely. These banks account for 23% market share in the Russian banking sector.
New measures also extend the sanctions targeting crypto-assets and trusts, tax havens for billionaires.
The 5th round of sanctions extends bans on EU exports to Russia worth €10 billion, in industrial areas where Russia is heavily dependent on European supplies (quantum computers, high-level semiconductors , chemicals, catalysts for refining, etc.), but also kerosene and fuel additives which can be used by the Russian army.
The EU has also tightened the exclusion of Russia from public procurement, while allowing derogations if a member state has no other solution.
