The Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) may finalize the ninth package of sanctions against Russia on Thursday although some members still have questions, European Council President Charles Michel has said.

"It is very important to finalize the ninth package of sanctions. I am confident, I think it is possible but we will need to work in the following hours." Michel said before the European Council meeting.

"On the sanctions package, there are concerns expressed not necessarily by Hungary, but by a few member states. I think there is some work that's needed. We count on a meeting of COREPER that is supposed to take place today in parallel with our European Council in order to make sure that we will be able today to make a decision," he said.

The Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore said on Wednesday, citing a European diplomatic source, the EU representatives failed to finalize the ninth package of sanctions against Russia. According to the newspaper, food security is one of the outstanding issues. Italy and other countries insist that some exceptions be made for the imports of Russian fertilizers. They also said that the supply of fertilizers to developing countries should not be restricted, the newspaper added.

The source told the newspaper he was hoping for the approval of the package by the EU representatives this week. There are grounds to believe that the representatives would give the package a green light by the weekend, he said.