The EU supports the 17th round of sanctions in Russia – Politico

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, praised the approval of the ambassadors in a post on X, saying that “this war must end. We will keep the high pressure on the Kremlin. “

Although the packaging was not controversial because it included only a few economic measures, several Member States managed to add more shadow fleet ships than originally offered.

The EU will also prohibit its companies from doing business with around thirty entities that will bypass sanctions via third countries. And 75 people and businesses were registered for their involvement in the Russian war machine.

Finally, the block also extends its legal possibilities to targeting ships which destroy underwater infrastructure, propaganda points of sale and the financial catalysts of the Russian War against Ukraine.

The new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz proposed to add a sanction pressure if the Kremlin would continue to attack Ukraine beyond a cease-fire offered on Monday. He suggested entering frozen Russian assets.

“There are a lot of ideas in the storage of previous tricks,” an EU diplomat in Politico told. “If you want to have a real impact, energy and banks would be logical but also difficult because of Hungary.”

In parallel, the EU also works on proposals to end imports of fossil fuels from Russia, under the Reweereu roadmap. New laws are expected under this umbrella by June.

Camille Gijs and Veronika Melkozerova contributed the reports. This story has been updated.