New EU sanctions against Russia could be agreed as early as May 14, Hungary seems to have managed to remove something - media
Kyiv • UNN
EU ambassadors are expected to agree on another package of sanctions against Russia on Wednesday. Hungary is likely to exclude Litasco, a subsidiary of Lukoil, from the blacklist.
The EU may agree on new sanctions against Russia as early as May 14, Hungary seems to have managed to remove one of the positions, Radio Liberty editor Rikard Jozwiak on European issues in X reported on Monday, writes UNN.
EU ambassadors likely to agree on the latest Russian sanctions on Wed. Very weak package, and it seems like Hungary will manage to remove Litasco, a Lukoil subsidiary from the blacklist
According to RFE/RL, the latest EU proposal for the next package of sanctions against the Russian Federation - the 17th package since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago - may be the weakest.
Presented by the European Commission to the 27 EU members earlier this week, the publication writes, it does not contain serious economic measures against the Kremlin.
Instead, it reportedly provides for more asset freezes and visa bans for various individuals and legal entities, mostly Russian citizens and companies related to the arms industry. It also includes a ban on servicing in EU ports another 98 vessels from Moscow's so-called shadow fleet, bringing the total number of vessels on the list to 250. And finally, it imposes export restrictions on 35 companies, most of which are Russian, but others are Kazakh, Serbian, Turkish and Uzbek.
According to EU officials, the aim is to adopt the proposal at a meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers on May 20.
The bloc, the publication writes, wants to show that Russia's numerous attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure in recent weeks should not go unpunished, "and approval is also likely to be swift - the new measures are so uncontroversial that even a sanctions skeptic like Hungary would be willing to raise a finger."
According to diplomats familiar with the sanctions negotiations, Budapest, however, will demand the exclusion of a certain organization from the list. "This is about Dubai-based Litasco, a subsidiary of the Russian energy giant Lukoil," the publication writes. Hungary is one of the few EU countries that still import Russian oil. According to the proposal, Brussels wants to target the company because it "allowed the acquisition of numerous vessels that are part of the so-called shadow fleet": "These vessels transported oil from Russia, turning off or manipulating their AIS transponders, not maintaining proper liability insurance or other financial security, and performing dangerous maritime operations."
There is also the question of whether six proposed Chinese companies will be blacklisted, given that some European capitals fear upsetting China too much, given the broad trade ties between Brussels and Beijing. "The most interesting of these are Poly Technologies, which supplies components for Russian military helicopters, and Skywalker Technology, the manufacturer of the Gerbera drone, which, according to Brussels, "was used by the Russian military in Ukraine, including as a decoy drone to overcome Ukrainian defense systems," the publication writes.
Although, as the publication notes, this package seems insignificant, the EU is working on separate sanctions measures against Russia in parallel with the 17th package. "These are more thematic sanctions, which consist of asset freezes and visa bans, and are planned to be adopted later in May. These include "blacklists" for human rights violations, the use of chemical weapons and "destabilizing activities" carried out around the world," the publication says.
The package for human rights violations, as indicated, targets 28 individuals, all Russian judges and prosecutors who are responsible either for the persecution of the deceased Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny and his associates, or for convicting Russians for spreading anti-war messages on the Internet.