EU plans sanctions against a record 1,600 companies for aiding Russia in the war - Bloomberg
Kyiv • UNN
The EU proposes to impose sanctions against over 1,600 companies that help Russia in the war against Ukraine. This is the largest sanctions package, which will increase the number of sanctioned entities by 50%.
The European Union plans to impose sanctions on over 1,600 companies that, according to its data, are helping Russia in the war against Ukraine, which would be the largest number of firms it has blacklisted in a single package, Bloomberg reports, writes UNN.
Details
According to people familiar with the matter, these companies have a combined annual turnover of over $20 billion and employ more than 265,000 workers.
If the package is approved, the number of entities under EU sanctions during Russia's war in Ukraine will increase by 50%, the sources added. All EU countries will have to approve the sanctions.
This proposal is the EU's latest attempt to force Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table. European leaders argue that Ukraine's strengthening position on the battlefield and Russia's economic decline have created an opportunity to advance new peace talks, amid Moscow revising its economic growth forecasts for 2026 downward. U.S. President Donald Trump is also taking up the war again, promising to help Kyiv with air defense and welcoming Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Washington on Tuesday, the publication notes.
However, the EU is increasingly struggling to impose sanctions on Moscow, as countries request exemptions to reduce economic damage.
The latest package, being prepared by the EU's foreign policy arm, the EEAS, targets specific companies rather than products or entire industries. It has been in development for several months, as officials try to target any unsanctioned elements of the Russian military-industrial complex, sources said.
While the proposal would significantly increase the number of firms under EU sanctions, it is unlikely to have the economic impact of previous packages targeting the Russian oil industry and banking system, the publication writes.
The new proposal would be adopted under difficult conditions, the publication writes. Recently, the EU was forced to soften several proposals within its 21st sanctions package against Moscow. Most notably, it cut a proposed ban on transferring Russian LNG to foreign countries after Greece opposed it.
France and Italy also pushed to cut a proposal to ban former Russian combatants from entering the EU. Other countries secured the removal of a potential ban on imports of some Russian fish species, such as cod and pollock.
Given these difficulties, officials told EU envoys that they plan to circulate the new proposal in the coming weeks to give capitals enough time for consideration, the sources said.
"The goal will be to adopt the sanctions at a meeting of foreign ministers in October," the publication notes.
Separately, the bloc is preparing additional restrictive measures related to the forced deportation of Ukrainian children, the sources added. They could also be adopted in the fall.
Meanwhile, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom - Europe's three largest economies - are renewing efforts to engage Putin in peace talks in coordination with Zelenskyy. The team of European Council President António Costa has also approached the Kremlin to open a communication channel to prepare for potential negotiations to end the war. However, Putin has rejected all calls for a ceasefire, the publication writes.