EU Sanctions

The EU Extends Sanctions on Russia for 6 More Months

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On Thursday, December 10, the European Union’s heads of State and Government renewed the economic sanctions against Russia for its role in the crisis in eastern Ukraine until June 30, 2021.

The EU first introduced the sanctions on July 31, 2014. The sanctions are focused on the finance, energy, and defense sectors, as well as on dual-use, civil, and military products. They also restrict Russia’s access to certain sensitive technologies and services that can be used for oil exploration and production.

The sanctions also limit access to the primary and secondary capital markets of the EU for five major Russian financial entities – Sberbank, VTB Bank, Gazprombank, Vnesheconombank, and Rosseljozbank – which have majority participation of the State, and its subsidiaries that also have a majority State participation and that are established outside the EU.

www.freshplaza.com

Result of Sanctions on EU Food Imports: Russian Consumers Pay an Extra $7 billion a Year

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The Russian sanctions on the import of EU food products is costing Russian consumers RUB445 billion ($7 billion) a year, or about $50 a year per head, according to a study by economists at RANEPA and CEFIR.

And the cost is mainly borne by consumers that absorb 84% of the increased costs, while food manufacturers carry only 3% of the extra burden, the study found. Food importers carry another 13% of the burden in net losses.

Russia imposed the agri-sanctions on Europe as a tit-for-tat measure after Europe and America slapped punitive sanctions on Russia following its annexation of the Crimea in May 2014. Since then President Vladimir Putin has said the Russian sanctions on food cost Europe €100 billion a year, although it is not clear where he gets this figure from.

However, mutual trade between Russia and the EU has fallen by about that amount in the last five years and many EU food exporters have been badly wounded by the Russian sanctions. Previously Russia was a major export market for things like pork and fruit. Previously Russia was a major export market for things like pork and fruit. High end processed food products like Italian cured meats and posh French cheese have almost entirely disappeared from Moscow shop shelves since the ban was introduced. (more…)

Russia Lifts Ban on Rail Transit of Sanctioned EU Products

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Russia has lifted the ban on transit traffic for a range of products that were previously sanctioned, including agricultural products and foodstuffs. The measure is effective per 1 July, subjective to certain conditions, reported by the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation.

The decision is considered a major breakthrough for Eurasian rail freight traffic. The transit of the products described was banned since August 2014 when originating from Europe, Norway, the US, Canada or Australia. The ban has had great impact on rail freight traffic between Europe and Asia, as Russia is one of the main transit countries on the New Silk Road. Until now, agricultural products, raw materials and foodstuffs could only be transported to China via routes bypassing Russia, resulting in much longer transit times.

It is important to note that the decree refers to rail and truck transport that enters the Russian territory in transit, on the way to a third country. Thus, the import ban is still in place for products of the type described when destined for the Russian market. With this distinction, the Russian government seems to respond to the growing demand of Eurasian transport services across its country. According to the Russian ministry, the new rules will allow for a volume increase by 82 thousand international transportations per year.

www.freshplaza.com

EU to Extend Economic Sanctions on Russia until 2020

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European Union leaders will decide on Thursday to prolong until the end of January 2020 economic sanctions against Russia over the turmoil in Ukraine and call on Moscow to help bring to justice those guilty of shooting down a passenger plane there in 2014.

The EU introduced sanctions on Russia after Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 and went on to support the regions in the east of the country, pursuing to separate from Kyiv. That conflict is still simmering.

The EU’s economic sanctions against Moscow over Ukraine include curbs on Russian energy, defence and financial sectors and are currently in place until the end of July.

The EU’s Russia hawks Poland and Lithuania are among those pushing to extend the bloc’s punitive measures against Moscow over the passport issue. But any new EU sanctions would require unanimity among all the 28 national leaders of the bloc and no new sanctions are expected swiftly as most others – including Italy, Germany and France – are opposed.

The leaders will, however, say on Thursday that the bloc “stands ready to consider further options, including non-recognition of Russian passports” issued in east Ukraine which undermine the peace process.

www.euronews.com

EU Extends Sanctions on Russia

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The EU on Thursday extended sanctions against Russia for another six months over Moscow’s actions in Ukraine.

The Council of the EU unanimously adopted the extension on the restrictions, which were originally imposed in July 2014 following Russia’s annexation of Crimea, citing Moscow’s “actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine.”

The sanctions target the financial, energy and defense sectors, as well as the area of dual-use goods — products that can be for either military or civilian use. The measures include limiting access to EU markets for five major Russian majority state-owned financial institutions and their majority-owned subsidiaries, as well as for three energy and three defense companies.

The sanctions also entail a ban on arms trade and curtailing Russian access to certain “sensitive” technologies that can be used for oil production and exploration.

EU leaders have said that the sanctions will be lifted once all sides in Ukraine commit to the ceasefire agreed in the Minsk accords.

www.politico.eu

EU Prolongs Sanctions against Russia until 15 September 2018

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On 12 March 2018, the Council prolonged the restrictive measures over actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine for a further six months, until 15 September 2018. The measures consist of asset freezes and travel restrictions. They continue to apply to 150 persons and 38 entities.

An assessment of the situation did not justify a change in the sanctions regime. The relevant information and statement of reasons for the listing of these persons and entities were updated as necessary.

The legal acts will available in the EU Official Journal of 13 March 2018.

Other EU measures in place in response to the Ukraine crisis include:

  • economic sanctions targeting specific sectors of the Russian economy, currently in place until 31 July 2018;
  • restrictive measures in response to the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol, limited to the territory of Crimea and Sevastopol, currently in place until 23 June 2018.

www.consilium.europa.eu

Unanimous EU Extends Russia Sanctions

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The European Union has extended the sanctions against Russia by six months. The sanctions were activated in 2014 as a response to the Russian annexation of the Crimea. Later the sanctions were linked to the carrying out of the Minsk accords, which aim for a cease fire in Eastern Ukraine. For now the country remains full of unrest.

Unlike previous extensions there was little attention paid to it in the run up. In previous years when the decision was made there was some protests from member states, national government or lower government. Donald Tusk, president of the European Commission, summed it up in a Tweet: “EU united on roll-over of economic sanctions on Russia.”

This decision has no short term consequences on the boycott of fruit and vegetables from Europe that Russia imposed as a response to the sanctions. Russia announced they would be maintaining the boycott until the end of 2018 when the sanctions were last extended. In the European Parliament last month there were parliamentarians who agreed that the EU should be doing more to tackle the consequences of the boycott. European Commissioner Hogan responded that there were enough measures in place to limit the damage of the boycott.

www.freshplaza.com

European Union Extends Sanctions Against Russia over Ukraine

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The European Union has extended sanctions by a further six months against dozens of Russian citizens and companies deemed to have a role in threatening the stability and independence of Ukraine.

EU headquarters said Thursday the restrictive measures have been prolonged until March 14 and now apply to 149 individuals and 38 entities. It said the sanctions are in response to “actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.”

The EU first imposed the sanctions after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and supported pro-Russia separatists fighting Ukrainian forces in Ukraine’s east.

The bloc has repeatedly extended the sanctions as the conflict continues. A 2015 peace deal helped reduce the scale of fighting, but violence continues.

www.abcnews.go.com

EU Fruit Still Slipping into Russia Despite Sanctions

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Despite ongoing sanctions imposed by Moscow on fruit and vegetables from European Union countries in response to EU measures banning the sale of produce from Russia, large quantities of fruit such as nectarines and peaches from the bloc’s warmer member-states, including Greece, Italy and Spain, are reaching Moscow shelves in a steady supply, with Belarus-based middlemen seen as the prime suspects in the illicit trade.

Belarusian traders are suspected of slipping through the sanctions net and passing off Mediterranean fruit exports as their own – likely with the assistance of Russian officials.

Initial reports of a doubling of Belarus exports of nectarines and peaches to Russia failed to raise eyebrows, even though the landlocked Eastern European country is not a major producer of either fruit.

It later became apparent that produce hailing from Italy and Spain was reaching the Russian market.

Recent reports have indicated that traders with links to the Russian market are sweeping through northern Greece, a key crop-growing region, and buying large quantities of fruit including nectarines and peaches.

A recent survey conducted by Kathimerini confirmed that Greek produce is widely available at retail outlets in the Russian capital.

Russia largely depends on imports for its fruit and vegetable supply.

Last year, the authenticity of trade documents certifying the origin of products exported by Belarus had been questioned by Russian officials.

Despite the EU-Russia sanctions, Greek traders are well aware of the fact that it is still possible to export to the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), a five-member common market with a combined GDP of more than 3 trillion dollars comprising Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan.

Getting cargo into any of Russia’s fellow EEC members enables unobstructed entry into the Russian market.

Meanwhile, Greek olive oil exports to Russia – the product category is not included in the sanctions – have almost doubled, rising by 91 percent to 3.1 million dollars’ worth of trade in the first half of 2016, compared to 1.6 million dollars during the same period a year earlier.

www.ekathimerini.com

Decision on Extending EU Sanctions against Russia Comes into Force

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The decision to extend the economic sectoral anti-Russian sanctions imposed by the European Union (EU) by six months, until January 31, 2017, has come into force, the Council of the European Union said in its resolution published in the EU’s Official Journal on Thursday.

According to the EU, this decision followed a report by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the EU summit on the implementation of the Minsk agreements on June 22-23. That paved the way for extending the sanctions for six months, the Council of the European Union said.

This is a purely technical move, since a political decision to extend sanctions was made at the EU summit on June 22. The package of anti-Russian economic restrictive measures was last extended in January 2017 until July 31.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexey Meshkov earlier told reporters that the EU’s anti-Russian sanctions cannot help Brussels achieve its goals in relations with Moscow, and the decision on their extension is regrettable. “It has long been clear to everyone that sanctions are counterproductive, that they are not able to tackle any tasks assigned by the European Union in terms of its relations with Russia,” he said. “Independent EU experts have repeatedly provided figures showing that the sanctions and our countermeasures affect, above all, the economies of the EU member-countries.”

The European Union began to impose sanctions against Russia over developments in Ukraine in March 2014. The decision about anti-Russian restrictive measures was made at the EU’s emergency summit on March 6, 2014. It was also announced that the Russia-EU summit scheduled for June 2014 had been cancelled and negotiations on a visa-free travel and a new framework cooperation agreement had been suspended. Later, the EU imposed three packages of sanctions on Russia, specifically, visa restrictions against some Russian state-owned oil, defense and financial companies (extended until January 31, 2018) along with restrictive measures against Crimea (extended until June 23, 2018).

www.tass.com