Tag: Sanction

EU countries agree in principle new sanctions targeting Belarus

Sanction

Brussels, June 26, 2024 (dpa/NAN) EU countries agrees in principle new punitive measures, targeting Belarus to strengthen existing sanctions on Russia, the Belgian EU presidency announced on Wednesday.

“The Belgian EU Presidency said that the package would strengthen our measures in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and combating circumvention of sanctions.

Since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU has targeted the Russian economy, institutions and officials linked to the war with multiple rounds of sanctions.

As the invasion drags on, Russia has worked hard to circumvent the punitive measures, to secure more resources for their military and to keep their economy running.

The EU diplomat said, Russia and Belarus are in a customs union, the new punitive measures on Minsk are meant to close “the biggest loophole” of the EU’s sanction regime.

Meanwhile,”Belarus must no longer serve as a route to circumvent our sanctions against Russia, The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said to welcome the agreement.

Furthermore, Belarus is in long isolation since a crackdown on demonstrators protesting fraudulent elections in 2020.

This has been sanctioned before by the EU for supporting the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

This also includes an EU export ban on firearms and aviation technology to Belarus as well as prohibition on transactions with the Central Bank of Belarus.

Belgium chaired the talks as current holder of the rotating EU presidency.

An agreement was reached among representatives of the EU countries in Brussels.

The new sanctions must now be finalised by national governments in a process known as written procedure.

Further details about the new measures will then be made public. (Xinhua/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Cecilia Odey and Abiemwense Moru

German concerns delaying EU’s latest Russia sanctions

Sanction

Brussels, June 13, 2024 (dpa/NAN) Berlin is bogging down negotiations on the latest EU sanctions package intended to prevent Russia from circumventing existing punitive measures imposed over the war in Ukraine, dpa has learnt.

Diplomats in Brussels said German concerned and requesting for changes were a decisive factor in the delay of the latest Russian sanctions package.

They said it recently felt like Germany had become the new Hungary, referring to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has repeatedly delayed decisions on Russia sanctions at EU level.

A spokesman for Germany’s permanent representation to the EU did not comment on the negotiations when asked by dpa on Thursday, saying that the discussions among the advisers of member states were confidential.

The latest planned EU punitive measures were aimed at preventing the circumvention of existing sanctions, with Russia’s defence industry currently still able to benefit from Western technology.

The technology that would help produces weapons for war in the neighbouring Ukraine.

For the first time, the EU also plans to impose strict sanctions against Russia’s multi-billion-dollar liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry.

According to diplomats, the European Commission is looking to bar the shipment of Russian LNG to third countries from EU ports such as the one in Belgium’s Zeebrugge.

The hope being this would reduce Russian LNG profits and thus available investments for the war in Ukraine.

German reticence mainly concerns the planned measures aimed at preventing sanctions circumvention, according to EU diplomats.

Among other things, Berlin is calling for a planned rule for subsidiaries to be held liable in the event of violations to be limited to certain goods or cancelled altogether.

This is amid apparent fears that German companies could be held responsible for sanctions violations. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
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Edited b y Cecilia Odey/Ekemini Ladejobi