This week, the European Commission proposed a fifth package of sanctions against Russia stating that Russia is waging a cruel and ruthless war, not only against Ukraine’s troops, but also against its civilian population, as SteelOrbis previously reported. Today, April 8, the European Council decided to accept the proposed package, imposing a fifth package of economic and individual sanctions against Russia.
The agreed package includes a series of measures intended to reinforce pressure on the Russian government and economy, and to limit Russia’s resources for its aggression.
The package comprises a prohibition to import coal and other solid fossil fuels from Russia into the EU as from August 2022, a prohibition to provide access to EU ports to vessels registered under the flag of Russia, a full transaction ban on four key Russian banks, which represent a 23 percent market share in the Russian banking sector, a ban on any Russian and Belarusian road transport undertaking preventing them from transporting goods by road within the EU, further export bans targeting jet fuel and other goods such as quantum computers and advanced semiconductors, and new import bans on products such as: wood, cement, seafood and liquor, and a general EU ban on participation of Russian companies in public procurement in EU member states.
Furthermore, the Council decided to sanction companies whose products or technology have played a role in the invasion, key oligarchs and businesspeople, high-ranking Kremlin officials, as well as family members of already sanctioned individuals.