EU foreign ministers failed to approve the ninth package of sanctions against Russia

The foreign ministers of the EU member states were unable to approve a new, ninth package of anti-Russian sanctions, it was returned for consideration by the permanent representatives of the EU. This follows from the agenda of the meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the EU, transmits TASS.

In accordance with the document, sanctions against Russia will be discussed at a committee meeting at 18:00 – after the end of the ministerial meeting. At the same time, a press conference following the results of the ministerial meeting is scheduled.

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 EU ministers “have different approaches”, which so far interfere negotiating new restrictions against the Russian Federation. Borrell nevertheless admitted that the EU countries could come to a unified position by the end of the day, but for this a number of issues need to be resolved.

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 EC also proposed introducing new export restrictions, in particular for dual-use goods such as electronics and IT components. As part of the ninth round of sanctions, the EU intends to ban the export of motors for drones and drones to Russia and any third countries that can then transfer them to the Russian Federation. Von der Leyen also announced new measures against the Russian energy and mining sectors.