The European Union has adopted the 18th package of sanctions against the Russian Federation — 14 people and 41 organizations have been hit by restrictions. The sanctions concern the energy and banking sectors, the military industry, enterprises in Belarus and China. In particular, the EU has lowered the ceiling price for Russian crude oil from $60 to $47.6 per barrel — Ukraine has repeatedly spoken about such a need.
This is reported by the Council of the European Union.
Sanctions against the Russian energy sector
The EU has banned imports of refined petroleum products made from Russian crude oil originating from any third country except Canada, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. This is to prevent Russian oil from entering the EU market through the back door.
In addition, the EU has imposed additional sanctions on the entire chain that ensures the operation of the shadow fleet — another 105 vessels have been restricted. Now, the blocʼs sanctions list includes a total of 444 vessels.
The EU has also imposed full sanctions — asset freezes, travel bans, and resource bans — against Russian and international companies that operate the shadow fleet vessels and trade in Russian oil, as well as against the fleetʼs main client, an Indian oil refinery, whose main owner is Rosneft.
For the first time, the captain of a shadow fleet vessel and a private company that maintains an international flag registry were added to the list. A company from the Russian liquefied natural gas sector was also added to the list.
The EU completely prohibits any transactions related to Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2. This also applies to the supply of goods or services — to prevent the completion, maintenance, launch or future use of both gas pipelines.
Banking sanctions
The EU is expanding its ban on financial exchange services for Russian banks, from a ban on messaging to a full ban on transactions. The new restrictions will cover 22 more Russian banks, in addition to the 23 already under sanctions.
The EU has tightened sanctions against financial institutions, crypto companies and banks from third countries that help Russia circumvent sanctions, support its war against Ukraine or are linked to the Russian Financial Messaging Transfer System — an analogue of SWIFT, created by the Central Bank of Russia to protect against sanctions.
In addition, the European Union has expanded the ban on transactions for companies from third countries if they violate sanctions or help Russia evade restrictions, particularly in the oil sector.
In addition, there will now be a ban on any transactions with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and its sub-funds and companies.
The EU Council has created a mechanism that allows the ban to be extended to individual companies in which the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has invested, as well as to organizations that provide it with investment or other financial services. The specific companies and institutions will be determined by the EU Council itself. Four Russian companies that received investments from the RDIF have already been added to the list. This further restricts Russiaʼs access to global financial markets and foreign exchange.
The EU Council also banned the sale, supply, transfer and export of software and its management systems if they are used in the banking or financial sector.
Military industry
The restrictions include suppliers of the Russian military-industrial complex, including three Chinese companies that supply goods used by the Russian Federation in the war. Eight Belarusian companies that support Russiaʼs military actions were also added to the list.
In addition to eight Belarusian companies linked to the military industry, the EU has also agreed on new restrictions on trade with Belarus, now on a par with those against Russia. In addition, a partial ban on financial services with Belarus has been converted into a full ban on transactions. An embargo on arms imports from Belarus has also been introduced.
Separately, 26 new entities have been placed under tighter export restrictions on dual-use goods — that is, goods that can be used for both civilian and military purposes. Of these, 11 companies are based not in Russia but in third countries: seven in China and four in Turkey. They were involved in evading sanctions, including supplying components for drones.
In addition, the EU has agreed to new export restrictions on goods worth over €2.5 billion. The list of banned goods now also includes technologies and materials used in the development and production of Russian military systems, including numerically controlled machine tools and chemical components for fuel production.
The bloc has also expanded the ban on transit through Russian territory to include new economically important goods used in construction and transportation.
Other sanctions
The Council has imposed sanctions on another person involved in the so-called “military education” of Ukrainian children deported to Russia. This brings the total number of people on the sanctions list involved in the abduction of Ukrainian children and ideological propaganda.
Several Russian intermediaries in the temporarily occupied territories were also added to the sanctions package, including a person responsible for manipulating Ukrainian cultural heritage, one of the Russian businessmen, and another propagandist.
The EU has adopted new rules to protect its member states from illegal arbitrations under bilateral investment treaties. This applies to cases initiated by Russian companies or individuals, including oligarchs or their representatives. EU countries are obliged not to recognize such proceedings and to act together to prevent payments from their awards.
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