European Union finally approves 19th Russia sanctions package: what's inside

The European Union finally approved its 19th package of sanctions against Russia by written procedure on the morning of 23 October.

Source: European Pravda, citing the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU

Quote: "We are pleased to announce that the Council has approved the 19th package of sanctions."

Details: The day before, the Danish Presidency announced that it had received a message from the last country "that it was now ready to lift its reservations on the 19th package". It then launched the approval process, anticipating that it would be complete by 08:00, which is what happened.

The energy section of the sanctions package provides for a ban on the import of Russian LNG within six months for short-term contracts and as of 1 January 2027 for long-term contracts, in line with the European Commission's RePowerEU plan.

It also strengthens the ban on cooperation with two Russian oil giants, Rosneft and Gazprom Neft, and imposes sanctions against another 117 tankers in the shadow fleet, bringing the total number of sanctioned vessels to 558.

The financial section includes:

• a ban on insurance for aircraft and ships used by Russia for the first five years after sale to a third country
• a full ban on transactions with five Russian banks and an extension of the existing ban on Russian electronic payment systems, Mir in particular, and sanctions against four more banks in Belarus and Kazakhstan
• a ban on transactions with five banks, one crypto exchange and two oil trading companies in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Paraguay, the UAE and Hong Kong
• a new ban on European businesses entering into new contracts with nine special economic zones in the Russian Federation and a complete ban on cooperation with Alabuga and Technopolis Moscow
• a full ban on cryptocurrency services for citizens, residents and companies from the Russian Federation.

Another 45 companies have been punished for circumventing existing sanctions, including three in India, two in Thailand, and 12 in China and Hong Kong; many of them are related to unmanned technologies.

Additional export restrictions have been imposed to complicate Russia's access to microchips and technologies that can be used in its military-industrial complex. More individuals and companies associated with the military-industrial complex and developments for the military industry will be added to the sanctions lists.

The export ban on industrial goods such as salt, rubber, building materials and technological goods is being expanded.

The criteria for adding ports in third countries to the sanctions lists are being expanded to include those used to transport UAVs and missiles to Russia or to circumvent oil sanctions.

A new mechanism is being introduced to restrict the movement of Russian diplomats in the EU, with a three-month transition period.

New listing criteria are being established in connection with involvement in the abduction of Ukrainian children by Russian authorities.

The ban on the provision of services in the field of AI, advanced computer technologies and commercial space-based services is being expanded. Prior authorisation will be required to provide any services in Russia that are not yet prohibited by sanctions.

In addition, European operators will be prohibited from providing tourism-related services in Russia.

Background:

• The EU's chief diplomat, Kaja Kallas, had predicted that the 19th package of sanctions against Russia could be approved on 23 October at a meeting of the European Council.
• The final approval of the sanctions package had been blocked by Slovakia, which had demanded that the European Commission take account of its reservations regarding cars with internal combustion engines and energy price regulation.
• Austria also raised objections, demanding that the EU lift sanctions on some Russian assets to compensate Austria's Raiffeisen Bank for fines imposed by Russia, but without success.

Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!