EU agrees ninth package of sanctions against Russia

The ambassadors of the EU countries agreed on a new, ninth package of sanctions against Russia, the relevant documents will be signed today, reported Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU late on the evening of 15 December on his Twitter.

“The ambassadors reached an agreement in principle on a sanctions package against Russia as part of the continued support of Ukraine by the European Union. It will be approved in writing tomorrow,” the statement said.

By information Reuters, the written procedure should be completed by noon (14:00 Moscow time).

The ninth package of sanctions was announced on 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.

During the discussion of new restrictions, the EU countries could not agree on them several times: for the first time, the Polish ambassador to the EU, Andrzej Sados, announced the deadlocked negotiations. 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.

On Dec. 12, EU diplomat Josep Borrell said talks were ongoing to clarify the necessary exemptions from the proposed sanctions needed to minimize collateral damage. After the meeting of representatives of the EU countries on December 14, it became knownthat the disagreement is about whether the EU should facilitate the export of Russian fertilizers through European ports, even in cases where they are produced by companies whose owners are on the sanctions list. Some EU members believe that such restrictions pose a threat to food security for developing countries, while Poland and the Baltic countries are confident that “Russian oligarchs” will begin to abuse “this loophole.”

Since the start of Russia’s special operation in Ukraine, the EU has already imposed eight packages of sanctions against Russia. The previous one was adopted on 6 October. In particular, it included limiting the cost of oil. It went into effect on December 5th. The EU countries have agreed on a price ceiling for Russian oil of $60 per barrel.