EU Enacts 18th Sanctions Package on Russia
The European Commission welcomes the Council’s adoption of the 18th Russia sanctions package, aimed at further ramping up pressure on the country and supporting EU’s goal of achieving a just and lasting peace for Ukraine.
The new measures focus on five building blocks: cutting Russia’s energy revenues, hitting Russia’s banking sector, further weakening its military-industrial complex, strengthening anti-circumvention measures, and holding Russia accountable for its crimes against Ukrainian children and cultural heritage. With this package, the number of listed vessels in Russia’s shadow fleet reaches a total of 444 vessels, and the number of individual listings exceeds 2,500. This package also includes new sanctions against Belarus.
The 18th package includes the following key elements:
ENERGY MEASURES
FINANCIAL MEASURES
TRADE MEASURES
The package expands export restrictions and bans to further disrupt and weaken Russia’s military-industrial complex. These include:
ANTI-CIRCUMVENTION MEASURES
TARGETING RUSSIA’S MILITARY CAPABILITIES AND SUPPLY CHAINS
RUSSIA’S ACCOUNTABILITY
MEASURES TO PROTECT MEMBER STATES FROM ARBITRATION
NEW MEASURES AGAINST BELARUS
In parallel, the package includes additional measures on Belarus, namely prohibiting arms procurement from Belarus, adding a catch-all provision for advanced technology items, transforming the ban on specialised financial messaging services into a full transaction ban, and adding measures to protect Member States from arbitration.
This package also includes additional export restrictions on sensitive goods, technologies and industrial goods. Finally, it adds one (1) entity subject to restrictions and eight (8) additional entities subject to asset freeze.
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_1840