On Wednesday 14 May, the ambassadors of the Member States to the European Union (Coreper II) reached a unanimous agreement in principle on the 17th package of European sanctions targeting Russia for its military aggression against Ukraine.
The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, welcomed the agreement on this new package of sanctions. These measures “drain Russia’s war chest” by targeting “more of Russia’s shadow fleet, which is illegally shipping oil for revenues to fund Putin’s aggression”, she said via social networks.
Exporting chemicals used in missile production to Russia will be banned. Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’, which enables it to sell its oil despite the restrictions imposed by the West, is subject to sanctions that will target “an additional 189 shadow fleet vessels”, according to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
With regard to individual sanctions, a further 30 companies involved in sanction evasion, particularly in dual-use goods, will be subject to new trade restrictions. A further 75 individual sanctions will be imposed on individuals and companies linked to the Russian military industry complex.
With regard to so-called hybrid sanctions, legal bases will be introduced into EU legislation to sanction: - the fleet, which destroys tangible assets such as underwater cables, airports and servers; - financial enablers; - entities involved in spreading disinformation and propaganda, in the words of the EU.
Finally, around twenty Russian judges and prosecutors involved in the cases that led to the convictions of two political opponents: the late Alexei Navalny (see EUROPE 13414/27) and Vladimir Kara-Murza (see EUROPE 13195/2) will face EU sanctions.
Formal adoption of the 17th EU sanctions package is scheduled for the Foreign Affairs Council on Tuesday 20 May, with two Member States still to lift their parliamentary reservations. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)