Reuters: EU did not have time to agree on sanctions against Russia by the anniversary of the special operation

The European Union failed to agree on the tenth package of sanctions against Russia, which was planned to be announced on February 24, the anniversary of the start of the special operation in Ukraine. About it informs Reuters, citing diplomats.

The agency clarifies that Poland rejected Italy’s demands for restrictions on rubber imports. According to the Polish side, the proposed restrictions are too soft and will not have the desired effect, since the EU has provided for too large a quota for imports and a long transition period.

Agency sources say that other EU countries were “confused” by the fact that because of one part of the package, sanctions would not be announced on the anniversary of the start of the special operation. “The key here was to be a message of solidarity with Ukraine on this special day,” one diplomat said.

The fact that Poland may block the adoption of the tenth package of EU sanctions against Russia due to dissatisfaction with its content, earlier reported Polish radio RMF referring to a high-ranking Polish diplomat.

The EU countries were unable to agree on the tenth package of sanctions either on February 22 or 23. As reported by Reuters, citing sources, the differences were caused by Russian diamonds and nuclear energy – these points provoked resistance from Hungary, Bulgaria, France and Belgium. Later, among the unresolved issues were called rubber restrictions and reporting obligations. Thus, Brussels insisted on a more thorough tracking of Russian assets in the EU, but some countries opposed because of the threat of fines for failure to provide information.

On January 17, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the tenth package of sanctions against Russia. Then she noted that the restrictions will be aimed at correcting the shortcomings made in the development of previous packages. On the same day, speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, the head of the EC said that the purpose of the EU sanctions is “plunging the Russian economy into recession for decades.” She also recalled that due to the restrictions of the Russian Federation, it was cut off from modern and critical technologies. According to von der Leyen, the package contains trade restrictions on supplies of 11 billion euros.