The Council of the European Union has adopted a new package of restrictive measures against the Russian Federation. Ukraine, Moldova, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Montenegro and North Macedonia joined this decision.
According to the official statement of the Council of the European Union, the new measures are aimed at countering actions that destabilise the situation in Ukraine. All partner countries have pledged to ensure that their national policies comply with the adopted restrictions.
A key element of the sanctions package was the expansion of restrictions against the so-called shadow fleet of Russia. Forty-six vessels used to circumvent oil sanctions were added to the list.
Control over the sale of tankers from the territory of the European Union was also strengthened to prevent their further use by the Russian side to transport energy resources and circumvent established international rules.
Financial restrictions covered another twenty banks of the Russian Federation and four financial institutions in Kyrgyzstan, Laos and Azerbaijan. Special attention was paid to the field of cryptocurrencies: a ban was introduced on interaction with Russian crypto-asset providers and the use of the digital ruble and the RUBx cryptocurrency. In addition, the European Union banned funding of scientific research and innovation with the participation of the Government of the Russian Federation.
Export and import restrictions have been expanded for sixty organizations whose activities are related to the Russian military-industrial complex. Mechanisms are also provided for protecting European companies from forced expropriation of assets or illegal use of intellectual property on the territory of Russia.
A separate point of the decision is the fight against disinformation by restricting access to online resources that duplicate the propaganda content of foreign media.
The adoption of the next package of sanctions demonstrates the consolidated position of European countries and their partners in the issue of increasing economic pressure. The systematic expansion of restrictive measures is aimed at further reducing Moscow’s financial and technical capabilities for conducting military operations.
