The EU is working on a twelfth package of sanctions against Russia. There are plans to restrict the trade in diamonds from Russia, several senior EU officials said in Brussels on Wednesday.
In addition, there could be an import ban on aluminum and export restrictions on other goods that can be used not only for civilian but also military purposes.
Russia improvises
It is unbelievable what components the Ukrainians find in Russian missiles, an official said of the so-called dual-use items. Sometimes microchips are discovered that are normally installed in refrigerators.
Unlike Britain, the EU has not yet imposed a ban on the import of diamonds and aluminum from Russia. The main reason so far has been resistance from Belgium, where the Flemish port city of Antwerp has been one of the world’s most important diamond epicenters since the 16th century.
Russia is considered the world’s largest producer of rough diamonds. In 2021, state diamond miner Alrosa had a turnover of 332 billion rubles (about 3.23 billion euros).
According to information from the German Press Agency, concrete proposals for the sanctions package were presented by the European Commission to representatives of the Member States this weekend.
The package must be put together this year
Ideally, this should be decided this year. The last package to date came into force in June. It included punitive measures against other people and organizations supporting Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, as well as an instrument against circumventing already imposed sanctions.
There has long been a sweeping ban on the import of crude oil, coal, steel, gold and luxury goods, as well as punitive measures against banks and financial institutions. The list of people and individuals sanctioned due to the conflict in Ukraine now includes approximately 1,800 entries.
Source: Krone
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