The European Commission on Wednesday (December 7) proposed a ninth package of sanction on Russia. The sanctions proposed due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would include almost 200 more individuals and entities on the EU sanctions list.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the commission favoured new sanctions against three additional Russian banks and new export controls and restrictions. Thes, she said, were especially for dual-use goods like key chemicals nerve agents, electronics and IT components.
In a video statement, von der Leyen said Russia “continues to bring death and devastation to Ukraine and is deliberately targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, seeking to paralyse the country at the beginning of the winter.”
She stressed that eight packages of sanctions already imposed by the EU were already hitting Russia very hard. Now, the bloc intends to raise the pressure on Russia with a ninth package.
Sanctions require the unanimous backing of all the bloc’s 27 member states, but most of the measures proposed in the first eight packages were approved by their representative European Council within weeks, though some were dropped or watered down.
(With input from agencies)
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