EC welcomes fourth round of sanctions against Russia, explains their implementation
The European Commission (EC) has welcomed the European Council's decision today to approve a fourth round of sanctions against Russia for the war it has unleashed against Ukraine.
This is discussed in a press release issued in Brussels on Tuesday.
"The European Commission welcomes the Council's agreement today to adopt a fourth package of restrictive measures against Russia in response to its brutal aggression against Ukraine and its people. These sanctions will further increase economic pressure on the Kremlin and prevent it from financing an invasion of Ukraine. They have been agreed with international partners, in particular with the United States," the press release said.
The EC specified that the agreed measures imply "a complete ban on any transactions with certain Russian state-owned enterprises in various sectors of the Kremlin's military-industrial complex," an EU ban on the import of those steel products that are currently under EU protective measures, which amounts to about EUR3.3 billion in lost export profits for Russia."
"In compensation, increased import quotas will be distributed among third countries," the EC added.
In addition, there will be a "far-reaching ban on new investment in the Russian energy sector, with some exceptions for civilian nuclear power and the transport of certain energy products back to the EU, an EU ban on the export of luxury goods (e.g. luxury cars, jewelry, etc.) which will directly hit the Russian elite."
“In addition, the list of individuals and entities under sanctions has been expanded to include more oligarchs and business elites associated with the Kremlin, as well as companies working in the military and defense spheres that are financially and materially supporting the invasion. There are also new lists of entities actively engaged in disinformation," the press release said.
The ban will also be imposed on the assignment of ratings to Russia and Russian companies by EU credit rating agencies and the provision of rating services to Russian clients, which will lead to further loss of their access to EU financial markets.
