The European Commission has presented its 19th package of sanctions against russia

This was announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on 19 September, according to a correspondent from Suspilne in Brussels. The main points of the new sanctions package are as follows:

Energy:

a ban on imports of russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) to EU markets;

a complete ban on transactions for Rosneft and Gazprom Neft, freezing the assets of other companies;

sanctions against 118 ships of the ‘shadow fleet’ that help circumvent restrictions (in total, more than 560 ships are already under sanctions);

additional controls on traders and oil refining companies, particularly in China.

Ursula von der Leyen says that russia's oil revenues in Europe have fallen by 90% in three years. European Commission spokeswoman Anna Kaisa Itkonen said that among the EU countries importing russian LNG are Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Spain and Portugal. At the same time, Greece, Slovakia and Hungary receive mainly pipeline gas through the Turkish Stream.

Finance and cryptocurrencies:

a ban on transactions for russian banks and banks in third countries that help circumvent sanctions;

for the first time, sanctions against crypto platforms and cryptocurrency transactions;

a ban on foreign banks cooperating with russian alternative payment systems, in particular Mir;

restrictions on transactions with companies in special economic zones.

Military technology and exports:

New bans on the export of goods and technologies that can be used on the battlefield. Forty-five companies in russia and third countries that directly or indirectly supported the russian military-industrial complex were added to the sanctions lists. Particular emphasis was placed on technologies for the production of drones.

The European Commission has stated that the sanctions have already had a significant impact on the russian economy: the discount rate has risen to 17%, inflation remains high, and access to financing is steadily declining.

‘One of russia's first requests in talks with partners is the lifting of sanctions. This shows that our measures are working,’ Ursula von der Leyen emphasised.

Under the REPowerEU plan, the EU was to abandon russian energy sources by the end of 2027. Now, however, the sanctions provide for a ban on LNG imports from January 2027, i.e. a year earlier.

Source: Suspilne