BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - The European Union has announced its 14th package of sanctions against Russia aimed to further reduce its sources of revenue and capacity to wage war against Ukraine.
The new package contains important new energy-related measures targeting Russia's liquefied natural gas sector, and measures targeting vessels which support Russia in the war. The package prohibits all future investments in, and exports to, LNG projects under construction in Russia. It will also prohibit, after a transition period of 9 months, the use of EU ports for the transshipment of Russian LNG. Moreover, the package prohibits the import of Russian LNG into certain terminals which are not connected to the EU gas pipeline network.
For the first time, the EU has adopted a measure targeting specific vessels contributing to Russia's war against Ukraine, that are subject to a port access ban and ban on provision of services.
The package introduces new listings targeting individuals and entities responsible for actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity of Ukraine. Under this, 69 individuals and 47 companies are subject to asset freezes. The EU has imposed travel bans on these individuals.
The package significantly strengthens EU financial sanctions by introducing a ban for EU banks outside Russia to use the financial messaging system SPFS, which is the Russian equivalent of SWIFT. It also allows the European Council to draw up a list of non-Russian third country banks connected to such system; those banks will be banned from doing business with EU operators. It introduces a ban on transactions with banks and crypto assets providers, in Russia and third countries, that facilitate transactions supporting Russia's defense-industrial base.
These measures will curb the ability of the Kremlin to channel funds to finance its war machine.
The package restricts export of nine additional dual-use and advanced technology items such as microwave and aerial amplifiers, flight data recorders and All-Terrain Vehicles. It extends the export bans on certain types of industrial products including chemical, plastics, vehicle parts and machinery goods, which was worth EUR 5 billion of EU exports prior to the invasion. In addition, the export as well as the transfer of manganese ore also has been prohibited.
The EU has imposes stricter restrictions for the export of dual-use and advanced technology items to 61 entities, out of which, 28 are Russian. The import ban on helium, which generates significant revenues for Russia, has been extended.
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