Borrell hopes to agree on the ninth package of sanctions against Russia this week
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EU foreign ministers failed today to agree on the ninth package of anti-Russian sanctions, EU diplomat Josep Borrell confirmed, expressing the hope that the restrictions could be approved by the end of this week. He stated this on press conferences following the ministerial meeting.
“The agreement was not reached by the ministers, but I hope that it will be reached this week and we will be able to approve this package of sanctions,” he said.
Borrell explained that the package was not agreed upon not because of the position of any individual EU member, but because of clarifying the necessary exemptions from the proposed sanctions needed to minimize collateral damage. The participating countries have already approved sanctions against about 200 Russian individuals and companies, as well as several media outlets, he stressed.
On December 10, the Polish ambassador to the EU, Andrzej Sados, announced that negotiations on sanctions had reached an impasse. According to him, this happened due to the large number of exceptions that were set by European states, including Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Belgium. Today, December 12, the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said that the ministers of the EU countries “have different approaches”, which so far hinder the coordination of new restrictions against the Russian Federation.
The ninth package of sanctions was announced December 7 by the head of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Leyen. She then said that 200 individuals and legal entities from Russia would fall under the restrictions. We are talking about the Russian military, defense industry enterprises, State Duma deputies and senators, ministers, governors and political parties. In addition, three more Russian banks will be included in the sanctions list, and broadcasting of four more Russian TV channels will be banned. The restrictions may include the supply of a number of dual-use goods, as well as the Russian energy and mining sectors.
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