On Thursday, December 15th, the European Union agreed on nine economic sanctions against Russia. The agreement has been reported by Reuters, which obtained a statement from European diplomats.
The EU interlocutors have released a statement that says that the written “agreement on the procedure for deciding on further sanctions” will be completed by December 16th. The permanent representatives of the EU countries have confirmed this information, as well.
According to early reports, the European Union may postpone the adoption of the ninth package of sanctions against Russia. The decision is likely to have a great deal to do with Poland and the Baltic countries on whether they will consider exporting Russian grain.
What Will the New Package Include?
The EU has decided to expand the list of sanctioned goods that can’t be exported to Russia, covering equipment needed for the country’s aviation and space industries.
An added key strategy in the new sanctions is the prohibition of high-value consumer products, including aircraft engines and their components, laptops, hard drives, cameras, lenses, and more. This should affect not only the aviation industry but also the military-industrial complex and a number of other sectors of the Russian economy.
The European Union is not going to stop Russia’s “build-up of its industrial capacity” with the new sanctions. Instead, they plan on restricting 169 companies that are using products that can contribute to the technological development in Russia’s defense and security sector. These products include drone engines, chemical, and biological equipment, riot control equipment, and electronic components.
On December 7th, the European Commission presented its fourth set of sanctions against Russia as part of a ninth package. These new sanctions include three Russian banks and a complete ban on transactions for the All-Russian Regional Development Bank.
The Russian lobbyist proposal would have introduced restrictions against nearly 200 individuals and organizations, including the military, members of the State Duma and the Federation Council, ministers, heads of regions, military-industrial complex enterprises, and political parties. Needless to say, Russia’s head of the EC would have also called for the blocking of four Russian TV channels.
Tough Decision
An important news source discussed a debate that was taking place in the EU with regard to introducing new sanctions against Russia. There is still a chance of blocking decisions because disagreements are occurring among the Member States of the EU.
German, French, and Netherlands demanded that Russia make modifications to the food supply. They want Russia to produce fertilizers for Third World countries at a lower price and with better quality. This was one of the things that were missing from the current sanctions against Russia.
The head of the European Council, Charles Michel, later admitted that a number of EU countries did not agree with the details of the new package of sanctions against Russia.
“ Hungary, as well as a number of other member countries expressed concerns about the [ninth] package of sanctions.”
The official confirmed that the discussion of new anti-Russian restrictions is on December 15th, and is hoping for a unanimous agreement by the end of the day.
