The European Union has approved the 10th package of anti-Russian sanctions. The new list notably includes 96 companies, including seven Iranian drone manufacturers, a ban on broadcasting Sputnik radio in the EU, as well as restrictions on the import of bitumen and rubber from Russia. Contents of the 10th sanctions package published on the website of the Council of the European Union.
The new EU sanctions affected:
critical technology and manufactured goods: electronics, specialized vehicles, parts for trucks and jet engines, and goods for the construction sector, “which can be sent to the Russian military, such as antennas or cranes”; dual-use goods, including “new electronic components used in Russian weapons systems seized from the battlefield”, including drones, missiles, helicopters, as well as rare earth elements, integrated circuits electronics and thermal cameras. 96 subjects of the military-industrial complex. For the first time, this list includes seven Iranian companies producing combat drones; three Russian banks (their names are not indicated in the application) – they were added to the list of legal entities subject to an asset freeze and a ban on providing funds and economic resources. Bloomberg wrote that we are talking about Alfa-Bank, Tinkoff Bank and Rosbank.
What prohibitions are set out in the 10th Sanctions Package:
transit through Russia of dual-use goods exported from the EU is completely prohibited (previously the ban only applied to exports); a ban on the import of Russian bitumen and synthetic rubber into EU countries; the broadcasting of the Arabic service Russia Today (RT) and the radio station Sputnik Arabic in Europe will be suspended; a ban on the provision of gas storage capacity (with the exception of certain LNG facilities); Russian citizens are prohibited from holding positions in governing bodies of EU critical infrastructure and organisations.
The restrictions will come into force after publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the EU. At the same time, clarifications on specific items on the sanctions list will be released.
How Remarks The European Commission (EC) in its press release, after the entry into force of the 10th sanctions package, half of European exports to Russia will be subject to restrictions. The EC estimates that the value of exports of goods subject to the new restrictions was €11.4 billion in 2021.
Earlier, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said that the tenth package of EU sanctions will affect 121 natural and legal persons from Russia. Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said the sanctions list, in particular, will include people “involved in the deportation of Ukrainian children”.
For several consecutive days, EU countries could not agree on new anti-Russian sanctions, not least because of Poland’s objections to their terms. Finally, the ambassadors to the EU reached an agreement on the 10th package on the night of February 25. Poland approved the new restrictions under several conditions, including drawing up sanctions against Rosatom, Belarus, diamonds mined from Russia and “Russian propagandists”.
