EU foreign ministers to discuss military aid to Ukraine, further Russia-related sanctions
The EU Foreign Affairs Council, which will meet in Brussels today, plans to work in three directions: support for Ukraine, sanctions against Russia, informing the international community about the consequences of the war, a source in the EU has said.
A senior EU official told reporters on condition of anonymity, briefing them on the agenda of the ministerial meeting on Friday, July 15. According to the official, on the first part, there will be a discussion of additional military support for Ukraine.
The media interlocutor said there will be a discussion on sanctions against Russia. The EU Foreign Affairs Council is preparing a number of measures. The Council will also listen via video link to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on the situation in the country.
With regard to military assistance to Kyiv, Brussels expects from the EU Council a political decision of the member states on the fifth tranche in accordance with the instructions of the European Council. The high-ranking source said the member states must open the way for a possible fifth tranche of the European Peace Facility.
According to him, this is not another package of sanctions as usual. This is about maintaining the existing sanctions, improving them. Some measures will be added to the existing ones, but this is about improving, consolidating their previous packages of sanctions.
The interlocutor of the journalists also said that during the discussion, the members of the council would discuss the proposal to ban Russian exports of gold.
The EU official said the ban on importing gold into the EU should be among these measures, and this is not a symbolic measure. It is known that Russia is a significant exporter of gold. The idea is to turn off another funding tap for it.
Answering a question about the effectiveness of EU sanctions against Russia, he pointed to a reduction in a number of industries in Russia as a result of European restrictive measures and a decrease in economic indicators.
According to him, about 1,000 foreign enterprises left Russia, hundreds reduced their presence in the country.
