European Commission proposes eighth sanctions package against Russia

30 September 2022

A series of new EU sanctions against Russia may soon be on the way. Yesterday afternoon, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Higher Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell presented the outline of a new sanctions package – the eighth since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in February.

It was just last week, after President Putin had, among other things, threatened the West with nuclear weapons in a disturbing TV speech, that the Member States agreed that new sanctions should be on the table. According to von der Leyen, the goal is to make the “Kremlin pay” for the war in Ukraine and the “sham referenda” that have taken place in parts of Ukraine recently.

This time, the Commission plans to introduce new import bans on various products of Russian origin to limit the trade that Russia continues to have with Europe despite the war. According to the European Commission if the sanctions are implemented, Russia will miss out on income of the equivalent of just over €7 billion.

Alongside that, the European Commission will ban Europeans from sitting on the boards of Russian state-owned companies. In this way, the Russian companies can no longer benefit from European knowledge and expertise. At the same time, it has been proposed to introduce sanctions against those Russians who, among other things, help Russia’s army with weapons or help to circumvent sanctions.

In addition, there are plans to hit the country’s energy sector with a price ceiling on Russian crude oil, which is sold to third countries. The EU countries already agreed earlier this year on a partial oil embargo against Russia, but now Ursula von der Leyen believes further steps must be taken.

The Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has recently criticized EU countries for not being tough enough against Russia. From the Ukrainian side, they would like to see the EU also introduce an embargo against Russian gas. “While you are counting your pennies, we are counting the number of dead,” said the President’s economic adviser, Oleg Ustenko.

The question now is whether the Member States can succeed in reaching an agreement. It has become more and more difficult given the fact that there are no longer so many sanction options left in the toolbox. Several countries are also worried about whether the EU sanctions are now starting to hurt them more than Russia.

In addition, the Hungarian government, which has close political ties to the Government in Moscow, has been critical of the sanctions. Nevertheless, von der Leyen hopes that a political agreement can be reached on the new package. “Our sanctions have hit Putin’s system hard. They have made it more difficult for him to sustain the war. And we are increasing our efforts here and moving forward” she said.