The European Commission is due to present a seventh package of sanctions against Russia on Friday, two EU officials have learned.
These new “conservation and alignment measures” could even be called the “sixth and a half package” of sanctions since the start of the war in Ukraine, one of the sources said, given their limited scope compared to the previous punitive measures in particular target oil or coal imported from Russia.
The European Commission should present these new sanctions later today. Ambassadors from member countries will discuss it next week ahead of final adoption, which is expected before the summer break.
The IBan on selling Russian gold imports via third countries, said one of the sources, who asked not to be identified, without specifying by what mechanism.
Brussels will strengthen the implementation of existing measures by imposition new import restrictions for civilian and military dual-use itemsparticularly in the chemical and industrial machinery sectors, said this source.
Access to Union ports
New people or entities close to the Kremlin will also be blacklisted by the EU, the two sources polled by R and a third said.
More than 1,000 people including Russian President Vladimir Putin and around 100 entities are already subject to an asset freeze and a ban on entering EU territory because their actions have threatened the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, according to the EU website.
At the same time, the Commission will amend certain restrictive measures to ensure that they do not affect Russian grain and agricultural exports.
African countries have accused the European Union of contributing through its sanctions to the ongoing global food crisis, mainly caused by the war in Ukraine and Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian ports. The EU rejects this analysis.
Changes to sanctions should ensure rules are not misinterpreted by traders, said an EU official, including one onBan on Russian ships in ports of member countries.
Under this measure, Russian ships will be allowed to call at EU ports if they are carrying food or medicines. But brokers have blocked food exports from some Russian ports indirectly owned by Brussels-sanctioned Russian state companies.
The new sanctions package will stipulate that these ports will be exempt from sanctions, the source said.