The European Union, in the upcoming sanctions against Russia, plans to introduce export control measures to deprive the country of the products necessary to realize its “strategic ambitions,” Josep Borrell, HEAD of European diplomacy, wrote in his blog.
“We have advanced in preparing a highly effective response that will cause serious damage to the Russian economy and financial system. We are also considering long-term export controls that would deny Russia the products it needs to fulfill its strategic ambitions,” he said.
Borrell believes that Russia is waging a "war of nerves" in the international arena. The diplomat pointed out that the EU was concerned not only with the development of sanctions, but also with strengthening its energy stability "through cooperation with partners such as the United States , Qatar and Azerbaijan on the issue of gas supplies," if there are interruptions from the Russian side.
In addition, the diplomat promised an "appropriate reaction" to Russia's decision to expand the black list of banned persons. We are talking about the Russian Foreign Ministry announced on January 28 a ban on entry into Russia for the heads of "certain European PMCs" (private military companies), representatives of law enforcement agencies, legislative and executive authorities of the EU countries. According to Borrell, such an action by the Russian authorities “feeds the atmosphere of tension in Europe, instead of contributing to de-escalation.”
Borrell ruled out preventive sanctions against Russia because of Ukraine Politics