For its military intervention in Ukraine, the European Union has imposed fresh sanctions on Russia, including prohibitions on Russian energy sector investments, luxury goods exports to Moscow, and steel imports from Russia.
More corporate executives who support Russia’s government have had their assets frozen, including Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich as well as the head of Russian state Television Network One, Konstantin Ernst, who have been included to a blacklist that already comprises dozens of wealthy Russians.
What are those new sanctions?
The new sanctions come after three rounds of punitive measures, including the freezing of the Russian central bank’s assets, the exclusion of some Russian and Belarusian banks from the SWIFT banking system, and the freezing of the assets of oligarchs but also top politicians, along with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin as well as foreign minister Sergey Lavrov.
According to the European Commission, the penalties include “a broad restriction on new investment in Russia’s energy industry.” The sanctions will affect Russia’s oil companies Rosneft, Transneft, and Gazprom Neft, who might face a transaction ban, although EU representatives will still be allowed to acquire their oil and gas.
Impact on Companies
On Monday, the EU achieved a preliminary agreement upon that new measures. The assets of Abramovich and some other billionaires would be frozen under the penalties, but EU states will decide how to implement them.
According to an EU official, the impact on enterprises held by blacklisted businessmen is uncertain because there are no explicit EU standards on how to determine control or ownership.
The EU is attempting to improve information sharing among EU states in order to facilitate seizures, as certain members have inadequate staff and political will. The embargo on Russian steel imports was bound to influence products worth $3.6 billion.
“Otherwise, the measure will have very little effect,” one EU source said, adding that the EU was in active discussions with Washington for the adoption of comparable restrictions by the US, which is home to the world’s top agencies. The EU officially agreed to revoke Russia’s “mostfavored nation” trade designation, paving the way for punitive tariffs or outright import restrictions on Russian goods.
