As the G7 moves forward with a plan to ban diamond purchases from Moscow, the EU is gearing up for a ‘fight’ over what to include in the 12th round of sanctions against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine. .
New measures to be presented in early October are expected to include a version of the EU’s upcoming G7 sanctions and a plan to use profits generated by Russia’s central bank’s frozen assets to help Kiev.
However, a group of member states, including Poland and the Baltic states, wants to go further, Bloomberg confirmed this Monday: the group wants to impose additional restrictions on LNG and IT services. There are also calls for restrictions on Russia’s nuclear sector: however, there are many member states who are opposed. There are those who argue that there is little left to permit in order for existing restrictions to be effectively applied.
Poland wants to strengthen restrictions on some products adopted in previous packages: its proposals include reducing import quotas on synthetic rubbers, making restrictions on steel more effective and introducing a ban on solid caustic soda. Warsaw is also demanding new sanctions against Belarus.
The diamond issue promises to be controversial and has met with opposition from major importing countries such as Belgium, who argue that a simple ban without a global agreement would shift the lucrative trade elsewhere. The G7 wants to impose mechanisms to track precious stones across borders, as well as introduce an outright ban on purchases from January 1.
The new package is likely to appear in the first fortnight of October – it could be announced during the EU-US summit scheduled for next month, although no date has been announced. Any new package should also include measures to curb Russia’s ability to circumvent EU sanctions through third countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.
The European Commission will present proposals in the coming weeks to introduce an extraordinary tax on frozen profits from Russian central bank assets, despite opposition from the European Central Bank: European Commission President Ursula van der Leyen will push for the tax, but member states have expressed concern. About legal and financial stability: There are about 200 billion euros in frozen assets, which has led to calls by some European leaders to be earmarked for Ukraine’s reconstruction.
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