The European Commission “welcomes” today’s Council agreement to adopt a fourth package of restrictive measures against Russia in response to its brutal aggression against Ukraine and its people, the Commission said. As emphasized, these sanctions will further increase economic pressure on the Kremlin and limit its ability to finance the invasion of Ukraine. They have been coordinated with international partners, especially the United States.
The agreed measures are as follows:
* Complete prohibition of any transactions with certain Russian state-owned enterprises from various sectors – the Kremlin military-industrial complex.
* The EU’s ban on the import of steel products that are currently subject to EU safeguard measures, which means a loss of export revenues of around € 3.3 billion for Russia. As compensation, the increased import quotas will be distributed among other third countries.
* Far-reaching ban on new investments in the Russian energy sector, with limited exceptions for civil nuclear energy and the transport of certain energy products back to the EU.
* EU ban on the export of luxury goods (e.g. luxury cars, jewelry, etc.), which is intended to directly hit the Russian elite.
* In addition, the list of people and entities subject to sanctions has been expanded to include other oligarchs and business elites associated with the Kremlin, as well as companies operating in the field of military and defense, which support the invasion logistically and materially. New lists of entities involved in disinformation have also been introduced.
* A ban on rating Russia and Russian companies by EU rating agencies and the provision of rating services to Russian clients, which would cause them to lose access to EU financial markets even more, “the release reads.
The EU, along with other members of the World Trade Organization (WTO), today agreed to refuse Russian products and services to be treated in EU markets on a most favored nation basis, it also said.
This follows a statement made on Friday 11 March by members of the G7. This will suspend significant benefits Russia is enjoying as a WTO member. Actions taken against Russia protect the essential security interests of the EU and its partners in the light of unprovoked, planned and unjustified Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, supported by Belarus. They are fully justified under WTO law, it was announced.
Source: European Commission and ISBnews
