The EU may postpone the adoption of new anti-Russian sanctions due to the position of Poland

The EU countries are likely to postpone the adoption of the ninth package of sanctions against Russia because of the position of Poland and the Baltic countries on the export of Russian fertilizers. About it informs RIA Novosti, citing a source in Brussels.

“There are some delays with the ninth round of sanctions as several member countries are pushing for a tougher stance when it comes to fertilisers’ passage through EU ports,” the source said.

He clarified that Poland and three other Baltic countries are against exceptions for the export of Russian fertilizers.

The agency’s source also doubted that the EU countries would be able to come to an agreement on new sanctions against the Russian Federation today, December 15, since several more rounds of negotiations would be required to finalize the draft.

December 14 in the EU failed to agree on the ninth package of sanctions, Reuters wrote about this, citing diplomats. The interlocutors of the publication also pointed to the disagreements that arose between the member countries of the block on the export of Russian fertilizers.

On December 10, the Polish ambassador to the EU, Andrzej Sados, announced that negotiations on sanctions had reached an impasse. Two days later, EU diplomat Josep Borrell toldthat the representatives of the EU member states again failed to agree on new restrictions due to disagreement on the necessary exceptions to the proposed measures. At the same time, sanctions against about 200 Russian individuals and companies, as well as several media outlets, have already been approved, he stressed.

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. Already in early December, the head of the EC Ursula von der Leyen announced the ninth package of sanctions against the Russian Federation.