The European Union intends to expand sanctions significantly against Russia in the coming months over Moscow’s war on Ukraine, the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, told a German newspaper.
“EU sanctions have already cost Russia dearly, depriving Russia’s war machine of more than €1 trillion and for autumn I am putting forward the most far-reaching sanctions listings since the start of the war,” she told Die Welt.
“Once adopted, they would immediately raise the total number of sanctioned Russian entities by a third. The pressure must keep growing until Moscow ends its war.”
Kallas, who leads the EU’s diplomatic service, the EEAS, did not elaborate on timing or details of the new designations.
READ MORE
But EU diplomatic sources later told Reuters the EEAS would propose about 1,600 individuals and entities based in Russia and focused on Moscow’s military industrial complex.
[ Secret Aughinish Alumina report: EU sanctions would jeopardise company ‘viability’ ]
The designations would include travel and transaction bans as well as asset freezes, they said. The EU has already listed nearly 3,000 people and companies.
The EEAS is expected to present the new list to EU countries early next month with an aim to adopt these in October, the sources said. The listings are not expected to be accompanied by sectoral measures – under the European Commission’s purview – as part of an effort to speed up their adoption.
EU sanctions must be approved unanimously. Traditional EU packages against Russia, which combine sectoral measures and full designations, have frequently become dogged by lengthy disputes. During negotiations for the latest 21st package, Greece raised an issue over a forthcoming ban on Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) transfers.
The package was approved in July, imposing curbs on Russia’s banking sector and cryptocurrency networks.
The EEAS also expects to propose more listings in September on those involved in trafficking Ukrainian children and later in autumn more designations related to Russia’s hybrid activities such as cyberattacks and misinformation campaigns are expected. – Reuters
