Germany prevents adoption of new package of EU sanctions against Russia

EU diplomats have stated that Germany's indecision is partly due to internal disagreements between its Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chancellor's office.

Previously, the EU excluded one of the points from the new package because Germany found it problematic. This point extended the so-called "No Russia clause" to subsidiaries in third countries. According to diplomats, Article 12G was excluded from the compromise text distributed to member states shortly before the ambassadors' meeting.

According to the draft early version of the package, this point would have required subsidiaries to "contractually prohibit re-exportation to Russia and re-exportation for use in Russia."

The EU has been consistently tightening sanctions against Moscow for its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but its efforts are undermined by sanctions evasion through third countries. Including this point would have further strengthened the bloc's measures. Diplomats say that ambassadors will continue debates on Thursday.

Officials from the 27 EU countries have been discussing sanction packages for over a month. The new measures include a ban on transshipping Russian LNG and a plan to hold EU operators accountable for sanctions violations by subsidiaries and partners in third countries.

Sanctions against Russia

Since the beginning of the full-scale aggression against Ukraine, the European Union has already implemented 13 packages of sanctions aimed at undermining the Russian economy and military capabilities. Work on the 14th package of sanctions is in full swing, and it is expected to include additional restrictions against 21 Russian companies.

In addition to tightening sanctions measures, the new package is also designed to make it more difficult for businesses to circumvent existing restrictions.

Previously, it was reported that EU countries might not agree on the 14th package of sanctions against Russia due to Germany.