On the anniversary of the war

EU puts together 13th package of sanctions against Russia

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell

(Bild: APA/AFP/Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD)

The EU has imposed new sanctions against Russia on the second anniversary of the war in Ukraine. Representatives of the 27 member states agreed on Wednesday in Brussels on a significant expansion of the list of persons and entities whose EU assets must be frozen.

The 13th package is one of the EU's "most comprehensive to date", explained the Belgian Presidency in Brussels on Wednesday following the agreement in principle.

In addition, further companies that contribute to the military and technological strengthening of Russia or to the development of its defense and security sector are also to be sanctioned. The EU will no longer be allowed to sell goods and technologies with military applications to them.

Russian helpers also in the sights
The EU recently used this instrument to target companies based in Hong Kong, Uzbekistan, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, for example, which are allegedly involved in circumventing EU punitive measures.

The new measures are also aimed at companies based in Turkey, Serbia, India and China, among others. Further export restrictions are also planned for goods that could be used by Russia to produce drones.

No new economic sanctions
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that she welcomed the agreement on what is now the 13th package of sanctions against Russia. The aim is to further degrade President Vladimir Putin's war machine. The pressure on the Kremlin is being kept high with sanctions against around 2,000 individuals and organizations. In addition, Russia's access to drones is being further restricted.

The agreement reached by the representatives of the member states must now be formalized in a written procedure, as announced by the Belgian EU Council Presidency. The list of additional individuals and companies affected should then be published in the EU Official Journal by the anniversary of the start of the war this Saturday. The sanctions package is primarily seen as a symbol for the anniversary because it does not contain any new far-reaching economic sanctions.

Blocking list to be significantly expanded
According to Deutsche Presse-Agentur, the new measures will affect a total of around 200 individuals, companies and organizations. Listed persons are not only affected by asset freezes. It will also no longer be possible to do business with them and they will no longer be allowed to enter the EU. This is to happen by the anniversary this Saturday.

The last EU sanctions package against Russia included a ban on importing diamonds and diamond jewelry from Russia into the European Union. A far-reaching ban on imports of crude oil, coal, steel, gold and luxury goods as well as punitive measures against banks and financial institutions have been in place for some time.

Assets to be diverted to Kiev
EU officials in Brussels also point out that it was only recently decided that the proceeds from the safekeeping of frozen Russian central bank funds for Ukraine would be skimmed off. The agreed procedure envisages, as a first step, ensuring that the extraordinary income from the safekeeping of assets of the Russian central bank is kept separately.

In a second step, it is then planned to transfer some of the funds to Ukraine. However, further legal texts still need to be drawn up for this.

According to estimates, a sum in the billions could be incurred annually, as according to the Commission, more than 210 billion euros from the Russian central bank have been frozen in the EU and the income from the safekeeping of the capital is constantly increasing.