EU further accelerates sanctions against Russia. Putin’s nuclear threats, the demobilization announcement, and the fake referendum announcement—gave a new impetus to the preparations for the restrictions.
Another set of EU sanctions against Russia for its aggression on Ukraine was announced by the European Commission ahead of the summer holidays. Work on the package has gained momentum in recent hours with President Vladimir Putin’s announcement of mobilization. The announcement of the new restrictions was made by European Commission president Ursula van der Leyen and EU diplomacy chief Joseph Borrell.
The proposal will be debated today, but much will depend on EU member states. For now, there is talk of adding more people and companies to the blacklist, and the issue of introducing a price cap for Russian oil is also being discussed, RMF FM reporter Katarzyna Szymańska-Borginon learned.
However, the main concerns are about Hungary’s position because Viktor Orban criticizes EU sanctions and blames the union, not the war caused by Putin, for rising prices and inflation.
“If the European Union abandons its policy of sanctions against Russia, prices will immediately halve, as will inflation,” the head of the Hungarian government said in a speech to a meeting of Fidesz and KDNP (Christian Democratic People’s) members. party). He said that by this the coming recession can be avoided.
“When Brussels forced Europe to introduce these sanctions at the beginning of the summer, EU officials assured us that they would affect Russia, not Europeans. Since then, it has become clear that the sanctions will harm Europe more than Russia,” he said. According to the Hungarian Prime Minister, there will be another opportunity to review the sanctions in November.
Poland and the Baltic countries have a completely different opinion than Hungary. These countries want to tighten sanctions and come up with their own proposal.
The EU adopted its seventh round of new sanctions against Russia in July. It envisages, among others, a ban on the import of Russian gold and at the same time strengthening export controls on dual-use goods, including chemicals and pharmaceuticals and high technology. The package also envisages adding more than 50 individuals and entities linked to the Kremlin to the EU sanctions list. This means freezing their assets and banning them from entering the EU.
EU diplomatic chief Borrell said on Thursday that additional sanctions against Russia would be agreed “together with our partners” as soon as possible.
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