EU Announces Largest-Ever Expansion of Sanctions List Against Russia
The European Union has agreed on the largest single expansion of its sanctions list against Russia in history. It plans to include another 1646 positions. The final agreement was formalized by EU country ambassadors in Brussels after several weeks of discussions and legal review, Euronews reports .
The new package covers 743 individuals and 826 companies and organizations accused of supporting Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Separately, 77 State Duma deputies who participated in the September elections in Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine were included in the list. Additionally, sanctions in the chemical weapons sector were extended against 31 individuals and six companies.
The new sanctions are expected to be finally approved on Monday, when EU foreign ministers gather in Luxembourg. After that, the names of the individuals and organizations subject to the restrictions will be published.
The sanctions include a ban on entry into EU countries, asset freezes, and a prohibition on providing financing. EU states sought to conclude negotiations as quickly as possible to demonstrate unity amid a series of hybrid attacks in Europe, some of which are linked to Russia. In parallel, work has already begun on new sanction additions following the drone incident at Leipzig Airport in Germany.
Another reason for demonstrating unity was the controversial decision last month to exclude two prominent Russian oligarchs, Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman, from the sanctions list. Usmanov's exclusion, insisted upon by France, was linked to agreements on the release of prisoners in Azerbaijan, in which Turkic states, who had long lobbied for the billionaire's interests, acted as mediators.
One French citizen has since been released, while another remains in prison.
In exchange for this decision, the EU extended the sanctions list for an unprecedented period of three years. As a result, the total number of people on the blacklist is soon expected to approach 4650.
EU High Representative for Foreign Policy Kaja Kallas welcomed the three-year extension of sanctions earlier this week. However, she acknowledged that she does not expect Usmanov and Fridman to return to the sanctions list quickly.
Kallas noted that EU countries can propose candidates for inclusion in the sanctions list, but the final decision is made by member states. According to her, she sees no signs that such a decision regarding Usmanov and Fridman will be made in the near future.
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