Ulrich Schmidt details the main points.
The European Commission put forward, on February 6, a new package of sanctions against Russia.
The sanctions package, which covers energy, financial services and trade, is the twentieth to be introduced against Russia since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. It will now need to be endorsed by European Union (EU) member states.
As part of the package, the Commission suggests introducing a full maritime services ban for Russian crude oil to diminish Russia’s energy revenues and make it more difficult for it to find buyers for its oil. Importantly, it aims to implement this ban in coordination with like-minded partners of the G7 – meaning the ban will operate almost worldwide. It is also listing 43 more vessels as being part of Russia’s shadow fleet, which brings the total to 640.
The package proposes making it more difficult for Russia to acquire tankers to be used for the shadow fleet and adds sweeping bans on provision of maintenance and other services for LNG tankers and icebreakers to further hamper Russian gas export projects.
Other measures in the package include:
- A second block of restrictions on Russia’s banking system and its ability to create alternative payment channels to fund economic activity. It lists 20 more Russian regional banks, several banks in third countries facilitating illegal trade in sanctioned goods, and includes measures against cryptocurrencies, companies trading them and platforms enabling crypto trade, in order to tackle sanctions circumvention. Ursula von der Leyen, the EU Commission’s president has specifically highlighted this measure; stating that “This is Russia's weak point, and we are pressing hard on it.”
- Tighter restrictions on exports to Russia, with new bans on a range of goods and services. These include metals, chemicals and critical minerals not yet covered by sanctions, items and technologies used for Russia’s battlefield effort and cybersecurity services.
- Activating for the first time the anti-circumvention tool - which allows the EU to restrict the sale, supply, transfer or export of specified sanctioned goods and technology to certain third countries - to prohibit the export of any computer numerical control machines and radios to jurisdictions where there is a high risk that these products could be re-exported to Russia.
- Tougher legal safeguards for EU companies to protect them from violations of their IP rights or from unfair expropriation in Russia due to abusive court rulings relating to sanctions.
Highlighting the above measures, von der Leyen stated: “This confirms what we already knew; our sanctions work, and we will continue to use them until Russia engages in serious negotiations with Ukraine for a just and lasting peace.”
The Commission’s plan to activate the EU anti-circumvention tool for the first time has to be seen as notable. It is a clear sign that the EU continues to be willing to target third countries that act as conduits for sanctions evasion.
But while the EU has sanctioned further shadow fleet vessels, it is important to note that Russia has set new records for maritime crude oil exports. As such, the EU should pay increased attention to actually enforcing the maritime sanctions it imposes. But how this could be achieved without a dramatic escalation in arresting and seizing shadow fleet vessels – which would prompt a reaction from Russia – remains to be seen.
