EU has Approved New Sanctions against Russia

The EU has given the green light to a fourth package of economic and individual sanctions against Russia, the Council said in a press release. The restrictions on the richest Russians were announced by the European Union, Britain and even Japan.

The list of EU sanctions against Russia is “the strongest package of sanctions the European Union has ever adopted in its history,” French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said today before entering a meeting of EU finance ministers.

The sanctions target Russian business and media elites, as well as several defense companies. The statement confirmed that the sanctions were aimed at “key oligarchs, lobbyists and propagandists pushing the Kremlin's version of the situation in Ukraine, as well as key companies in the aviation, military and dual-use, shipbuilding and engineering sectors.” The measures will also introduce a ban on imports of iron and steel into the EU.

I welcome the fast adoption by EU Member States of the 4th package of sanctions against Russia.

This will further cripple Putin’s ability to finance this unjustified war.

The EU and its partners will keep up the pressure on the Kremlin until it stops the invasion of Ukraine.

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) March 15, 2022

The sanctions will also affect the export of luxury goods from the EU, in order to directly affect the Russian elite.

The EU has also agreed to deprive Russia of its status as the most favored nation in the WTO, which will “stop the significant benefits that Russia enjoys as a member of the WTO”, such as lower tariffs. The process of Belarus' accession to the WTO will also be suspended in view of “the material support that the country provides to the actions of the Russian Federation.”

“The sanctions will affect more than 600 Russian citizens, much of the financial system will be affected by these sanctions, there will be new bans on certain exports, such as luxury goods,” Le Maire said.

A special law was prepared under the fast-track procedure. It is expected to give the government the right not only to freeze the bank accounts of Russian millionaires but also to seize property.

The EU forbids European rating agencies to rate Russia and Russian companies. The EU imposes certain bans on new investments in the Russian energy sector. Imports of some steel products are also being banned, which could lead to a loss of 3.3 billion euros in export earnings for Russia. The EU is adding new Russian names to the list of sanctions for misinformation. The EU's ban on luxury goods exports to Russia will affect expensive cars and jewelry.

Putin's war is becoming more brutal by the day.

I just informed President @ZelenskyyUa of the 4th package of sanctions.

The EU is with the Ukrainian people.

We support them with a €1.2 billion macro-financial assistance package and €500 million in humanitarian aid. pic.twitter.com/9siOxbRdsB

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) March 14, 2022

During a meeting of the 27 EU finance ministers, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said the bloc needed a “common economic strategy” to deal with the effects of the war, and listed three goals:

- protecting households affected by rising gas and fuel prices, for example by reducing fuel taxes;

- protection of the most affected industries, which are most dependent on Russian gas imports or depend on Russia for imports or as an export market;

- work for Europe's energy independence by curbing demand - which he called “energy sobriety” - and investing in renewable energy sources.

/Nova

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