European Commission unveils 21st EU sanctions package against Russia: what it includes

The European Commission's proposed 21st package of EU sanctions against Russia, unveiled on 9 June, focuses on energy, financial services and cryptocurrencies, trade and fishery.

Source: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during the presentation of the sanctions package

Details: The 21st sanctions package includes measures targeting Russia's energy sector, banks, trade and fishing companies.

"Today we are putting forward the 21st sanctions package. We focus on the sectors with the highest impact, that is energy, financial services and crypto, trade, and this time it includes for the very first time fisheries," von der Leyen said.

She added that the European Commission also wants to ban former Russian combatants from entering the EU.

The package must now be considered and unanimously approved by the Council of the EU.

The main objective of the energy-related sanctions is to further reduce Russia's oil revenues, including by freezing the oil price cap.

Quote: "Our oil price cap has a built-in adjustment mechanism to follow the market. It was not made for market shocks like the one caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. So we proposed to simply pause the adjustment until January next year. This will give oil markets time to stabilise while preserving pressure on Russia's revenues."

Details: The EU is also continuing its efforts against Russia's shadow fleet.

"Today we propose listing 30 more vessels on top of the 632 already sanctioned. For the first time, we are also targeting vessels that assist the shadow fleet. For example, providing bunkering and other services. And we propose targeting critical infrastructure such as ports or airports or refineries, trading or processing Russian oil," von der Leyen added.

The EU also proposes restricting the sale of LNG tankers to Russia, similarly to the existing restrictions on oil tankers.

The 21st package includes a number of financial and cryptocurrency-related restrictions. These include transaction bans on an additional 31 Russian banks, as well as 20 banks, crypto firms, platforms and oil traders in third countries that have serviced sanctioned Russian entities or individuals or helped circumvent sanctions. For the first time, the EU also wants the option of imposing a complete ban on crypto-asset services involving third countries.

In the area of trade, the EU proposes new export restrictions on goods and technologies used by Russia's military industry.

Quote: "We're targeting more metals and alloys used in the aerospace and defence sectors. For drones, we propose new export bans on ground support equipment and jamming and launch systems, among other items. We also propose new import bans on a number of goods worth €60 million. For example, it covers certain metals, metal ores or car parts."

Details: For the first time, the EU is proposing significant restrictions on imports of certain fish products and a complete ban on others, including cod.

"We will be aligning trade restrictions for Belarus so it cannot serve as a backdoor for Russian trade," the Commission president added.

Background:

• The EU aims to approve its 21st sanctions package against Russia by 15 July, ahead of the deadline for renewing the price cap on Russian oil.
• EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas previously indicated that the package could include additional measures targeting Russia's military-industrial complex and its shadow fleet.

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