The Europeans and Americans are no longer cooperating in the area of imposing economic sanctions against Russia.
This is stated in an internal report of the German Foreign Ministry, which was accessed by journalists from Süddeutsche Zeitung.
In the document, EU sanctions policy chief David OʼSullivan laments the complete breakdown of transatlantic coordination on sanctions evasion.
As a result, “there is no longer any joint outreach”. G7 cooperation has also “lost momentum” in this regard.
However, OʼSullivan and the head of the European Intelligence Centre (INTCEN) stressed in the report that the sanctions already imposed will have a significant impact on the Russian economy. They stressed that the EU has achieved some success in restricting the export of military goods through third countries, in particular with regard to such states as Armenia, Serbia, Uzbekistan and India.
However, difficulties continue to exist with Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey. Although the UAE claims that exports have been halted, it does not provide any statistics. Import data, on the contrary, suggests otherwise.
According to OʼSullivan, China, including Hong Kong, is responsible for about 80% of sanctions evasion cases and continues to deny it. In addition, companies from EU countries are also involved in such schemes, which weakens the European Commissionʼs position in negotiations with third countries on sanctions.
OʼSullivan also reported on the first successes in the fight against Russiaʼs shadow fleet. He noted that several states in which these tankers and cargo ships were registered have stripped the ships of their flags following the EU initiative.
The document notes that the next EU sanctions will likely target Russiaʼs energy and banking sectors. The only country opposed to this is Hungary, which, as the German Foreign Ministry notes, "once again shows no willingness to compromise".
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