On Thursday, 2 June, the Member States’ ambassadors to the EU approved the sixth package of sanctions against Russia (see EUROPE 12963/20). The package will be adopted by written procedure, which will be concluded this Friday at 9 am, in preparation for publication in the Official Journal later that day.
In order to gain Hungary’s approval, the ambassadors decided not to sanction Patriarch Kirill, who is, however, a strong supporter of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine (see EUROPE 12945/1). According to Budapest, sanctioning him would be an attack on religious freedom.
“With the exemption for oil arriving by pipeline and the removal of Patriarch Kirill’s name, the package is now in line with Hungary’s national security interests”, indicated Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Péter Szijjártó.
This sixth package of sanctions includes a two-stage oil embargo (see EUROPE 12961/1); the disconnection of three Russian banks, including Sberbank, and one Belarusian bank from the SWIFT system; a ban on three Russian media outlets involved in spreading propaganda; and the extension of bans on exports to Russia, including on chemicals and high-tech goods. Providing services to the Russian oil sector and providing consulting services for Russian operators will also be prohibited.
Furthermore, measures will be taken against members of [Russia’s] security and military apparatus who have been linked in particular to the Bucha massacres, oligarchs, propagandists and their family members, and entities in the industrial and technology sectors, according to the French Presidency of the Council of the EU. The initial proposal suggested sanctioning 58 individuals and 17 entities.
In addition, President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola announced, with immediate effect, that representatives from Russian companies were no longer allowed to enter European Parliament buildings (see other news). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)