In the EU, ideas for the 20th package of sanctions against Russia will begin to be discussed "around January," Politico reports, citing sources, writes UNN.
Details
Officials on the sidelines of the EU Council video conference on foreign affairs, which took place on Wednesday, and two subsequent Coreper meetings, were asked about the status of sanctions.
"The verdict on the 20th package of sanctions against Russia: don't expect any movement before the holidays," the publication writes.
"It's not a priority right now," one official said. Another diplomat said they expect "the European Commission to start discussing ideas around January."
Diplomats report that informal discussions are underway in preparatory bodies, especially regarding potential sanctions, but this is standard preparatory work. So far, nothing has reached the level of EU ambassadors, which means that the inter-institutional process has not yet begun, the publication notes.
"Closing loopholes – always a key component of any sanctions package – will be central to the 20th package," the publication says.
A new investigation by the Economic Security Council of Ukraine (ESCU), as the publication writes, "revealed significant gaps in export controls on natural rubber, which is critical for Russia's defense industry – tires for fighter jets, missile carriers, bomb delivery systems."
In 2024, almost 2,000 tons of natural rubber worth $5.1 million were exported from the EU to Russia. Although synthetic rubber has faced EU restrictions since 2023, which were further tightened in the 19th package, "natural rubber remains largely untouched," the publication writes. One of the largest suppliers is a Latvian company that supplied natural rubber worth more than $2.2 million to Russian companies, including the Ministry of Defense, the publication writes.
"The 20th package will likely focus on limiting Russian energy export revenues, mainly by further deterring the shadow fleet," said ESCU Director Olena Yurchenko. But persistent vulnerabilities include the slow pace of sanctions implementation and Brussels' caution regarding secondary sanctions targeting intermediaries who help re-export dual-use goods to Russia, the publication points out.
"Direct exports from the EU have practically been reduced to zero, but the response to intermediaries in third countries is still not decisive enough," she said.