“The European Commission proposed the 20th package of sanctions against Russia: prohibitions in energy, finance and trade.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Ursula von der Leyen, photo: Getty images Source: statement of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, “European Truth” reports
Details: It is reported that the 20th package of EU sanctions on the Russian Federation will hit Russian energy exports, limit financial services and introduce a number of trade restrictions.
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Now the 20th package of sanctions must be discussed and approved by the Council of the EU, its support requires a unanimous vote of all 27 states of the European Union.
“The new package of sanctions covers energy, financial services and trade. In the energy sector, we are introducing a complete ban on maritime services for Russian crude oil,” the statement said.
It is planned that this measure “will further reduce Russia’s income from energy sources and make it more difficult to find buyers for its oil.”
“As shipping is a global business, we propose to implement this total ban in coordination with like-minded partners after the G7 decision,” Von der Leyen emphasized.
“We are adding 43 more ships to the list, which are part of the shadow fleet – the total number reaches 640,” she added.
The EU will also make it more difficult for Russia to acquire tankers to be used for its shadow fleet, and is adding bans on maintenance and other services for LNG tankers and icebreakers to further hurt gas export projects.
“This complements our ban on LPG imports agreed by the 19th package and the RepowerEU Regulation.” – said in the statement.
The second block of measures is the limitation of Russia’s banking system and its ability to create alternative payment channels for financing economic activity.
“We are adding 20 more Russian regional banks to the list, and we will take measures against cryptocurrencies, companies that trade in them, and platforms that enable trading in cryptocurrencies to close the way to bypass sanctions,” the president of the European Commission emphasizes.
According to her, the sanctions also target several banks in third countries involved in facilitating the illegal trade in sanctioned goods.
The third block of measures includes new bans on goods and services – from rubber to tractors and cyber security services, worth more than 360 million euros.
“We are also introducing new import bans on metals, chemicals and critical minerals not already under sanctions, worth more than 570 million euros. And we are introducing further export restrictions on items and technology used for Russia’s military efforts, such as materials used to make explosives. We are proposing an ammonia quota to limit existing imports,” the statement said.
What happened before:
- The publication by the European Commission of the contents of the 20th package of EU sanctions against Russia was somewhat delayed due to discussions surrounding the proposal of a complete ban on the provision of maritime services in EU ports to all vessels transporting Russian oil.
- The European Commission was expected to publish a proposal on the contents of the package this week.
- It is known that France insisted that the 20th package of EU sanctions against the Russian Federation be “especially tough” with regard to the “shadow fleet”.