New sanctions package

EU tightens sanctions against Russia once again

LNG ports, such as here on the Croatian island of Krk, are no longer to be "transshipment points" for Russian liquefied gas.

(Bild: APA/AFP/DENIS LOVROVIC)

While head of state Vladimir Putin is currently strengthening his alliances with Asian partners, the EU is continuing to tighten sanctions. The member states recently agreed on a new package of measures against Russia. This targets the Russian liquefied natural gas business in particular.

According to diplomats, ports such as the one in Zeebrugge, Belgium, are to be banned from being used to ship Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) to third countries. This should then lead to Russia being able to sell less liquefied natural gas due to a lack of transport capacity and invest less money in its war of aggression.

Less liquefied natural gas sales should also mean less money for Russia's army.

(Bild: AFP PHOTO / ANDREY SMIRNOV ANDREY SMIRNOV / AFP (Archivbild 2023))

The package also contains stricter measures against the circumvention of existing sanctions. According to estimates by the EU Commission, subsidiaries of European companies are still supplying goods worth hundreds of millions of euros to Russia that should no longer be going there due to EU sanctions. Specifically, this relates in particular to goods that can contribute to the development of Russia's defense and security sector.

Package weakened due to German concerns
The German government opposed this plan for a long time. According to reports, Berlin fought for a weakening in the negotiations. This was apparently due to warnings from the German economy, which feared excessive administrative costs and loss of sales.

The compromise apparently stipulates that the so-called No Russia Clause does not have to be applied to subsidiaries as planned for the time being. It requires EU exporters to contractually prohibit the re-export of certain goods to Russia and their re-export for use in Russia. This affects, for example, aviation goods, jet fuel, weapons and advanced technology goods used in Russian military systems.