EU countries did not agree on the ninth package of sanctions against Russia

The work on the ninth package of EU sanctions at the end of November was announced by the HEAD of the EC Ursula von der Leyen. According to Politico, the EU intends to massively expand the blacklist of individuals from RUSSIA. Borrell pointed out

The EU countries were unable to agree on the ninth package of sanctions against Russia before the meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels, which will be held on December 12, the discussion continues. This was stated by the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell.

“This meeting of the EU Council will be very long and difficult. We have on the agenda the approval of the ninth package of sanctions against Russia. We are still in the process [of negotiation] and have not finished yet,” he said.

Borrell pointed out that the proposal for sanctions is "only a proposal, not a final decision" and needs to be discussed. “There are still a number of issues that need to be agreed upon,” the diplomat added.

Borrell also announced the imposition of new sanctions against Iran due to the situation with the protests and "supplies of weapons to Russia."

The Russian Embassy called the purpose of the new US sanctions "denigration of objectionable" Politics

Since the beginning of the Russian special operation in Ukraine, the EU has already introduced eight packages of sanctions. They include restrictions against Russian banks, businessmen, a ban on coal imports, an oil embargo, EXPORT restrictions, etc. In late November, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that work was "in full swing" on the ninth package of sanctions. Politico wrote that the main measure under the ninth package could be a large-scale expansion of the list of individuals subject to EU sanctions .

In addition, earlier the EU Council unanimously approved the inclusion in the list of criminal offenses bypassing anti-Russian sanctions. The next step for the European Commission is to develop a directive that will describe the crimes related to the circumvention of sanctions and the penalties for them. The document will then be discussed by the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament.

Read on RBC Pro The end of preferential mortgages: what will happen to the shares of real estate developers CHINAwon’t save: is it possible to prevent a shortage of computer hardware What three advertising strategies will be winning in 2023 Why employees of “good” companies behave immorally

The European Commission also plans to discuss a way to withdraw the assets of the Russian Central Bank, frozen due to sanctions. Von der Leyen proposed the creation of a fund that would pool both the assets of the Central Bank and the assets of Russian businessmen blocked due to sanctions. The funds of this fund could be invested, and the income from these investments could be used to pay compensation to Ukraine, she believes. In total, according to her, the EU has blocked €300 billion of reserves of the Bank of Russia and €19 billion of private funds of Russian businessmen.

The Russian authorities have repeatedly stated that they consider the sanctions illegal. President Vladimir Putin called the restrictions "crazy and thoughtless" and also said that the number of restrictive measures and the speed with which they were introduced was unprecedented. However, according to him, the West's calculation of the destruction of the Russian economy did not materialize.