The countries of the European Union (EU) gave the green light this Wednesday to a new package of sanctions against Russia, the eleventh since it invaded Ukraine, focused on avoiding circumvention through third countries of restrictive measures already imposed.
In addition, it includes more sanctions against individuals, as reported by the Swedish presidency of the Council of the Union via Twitter.
The ambassadors of the Twenty-seven to the EU, meeting in Brussels, made the decision unanimously.
“I welcome the political agreement on our eleventh package of sanctions,” said the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, through the same social network.
In the opinion of German politics, “he will deal a new blow to the war machine of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin with stricter export restrictions, directed at entities that support the Kremlin.”
Von der Leyen added that the EU’s “anti-circumvention” tool “will prevent Russia from getting the sanctioned goods.”
To minimize the risk of circumventing the restrictive measures, the package introduces prohibitions on the transit through Russian territory of goods and technology that may contribute to Russia’s military and technological improvement or the development of its defense and security sector, community sources told EFE. .
In addition, it includes the possibility of adopting new exceptional “last resort” measures that restrict the sale, supply, transfer or export of sensitive dual-use goods and technology -civilian and military- to third countries whose jurisdiction “is proven that is at a continuing and particularly high risk of being used for circumvention”.
The new package also expands the list of restricted goods that contribute to Russia’s military and technological improvement or the development of its defense and security sector.
And it extends the suspension of the broadcasting licenses in the Union of five Russian media outlets “under permanent control of the Russian leaders” and the ban on broadcasting their content, the sources said.
Another agreed measure is the prohibition of access to the ports and locks of the territory of the Union to ships that participate in transshipments between ships, when the competent authorities have “reasonable grounds” to suspect that they are infringing the ban on importing crude oil and products Russian oil tankers by sea to the Union.
Also if it is suspected that they are transporting Russian crude oil or petroleum products purchased above the maximum price agreed by the international coalition (made up of the EU, Australia, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States) that has set limits on the amount of those items.
As regards individual sanctions, the blacklist is extended to another 71 people and 33 entities in response, community sources indicated, to the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.
These people will not be able to enter the EU and the assets they may have in Union territory will be frozen.
In addition, new criteria are introduced for the inclusion in the list of persons and entities, in order to be able to incorporate those who facilitate violations of the prohibition to circumvent the sanctions imposed on Russia.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project