EU prepares "largest-ever" sanctions against Russia – details

Iryna Kutielieva, Iryna Balachuk - 17 August, 17:47

EU flag. Stock photo: Pixabay

The European External Action Service is preparing the largest expansion of its sanctions lists since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, involving approximately 1,600 individuals and companies.

Source: European Pravda, citing Radio Liberty

Details: According to a source familiar with the preparations, a significant proportion of the individuals and companies are linked to Russia's military-industrial complex.

The diplomat added that the proposals are expected to be presented to EU ambassadors at the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) in early September and adopted in October.

However, this is not a new sectoral sanctions package, but rather the addition of new individuals and legal entities to the EU sanctions lists.

Overall, the European External Action Service plans to move towards regularly updating these lists.

New proposals for individual sanctions are expected to be prepared monthly and, where possible, adopted at each meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council.

According to the diplomat, separate proposals targeting individuals and organisations involved in human rights violations and Russia's hybrid operations are expected in September.

Background:

Earlier, Kaja Kallas, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said that the European Union plans to present a new package of sanctions against Russia in the coming months, which could become the largest since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
On 23 July, the Council of the European Union formally adopted a new package of sanctions against Russia, describing it as a measure that deals a powerful blow to Russia's energy sector, financial services and cryptocurrencies.
The package was approved after weeks of delays caused by objections from several member states for different reasons, with Greece being the last country to lift its objections.
On 7 August, Kallas announced that the EU had approved new sanctions against Russia in response to the recent massive strikes on Ukraine.

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