EU Ministers endorsed new sanctions on Russia as the war in Ukraine enters its fourth year

The EU foreign Ministers finally agreed on the adoption of the 16th package of sanctions imposed over Russia’s war against Ukraine. The unanimous yes came on the day of the third anniversary of the full-scale invasion after Hungary obtained an exclusion of the use of petroleum products derived from Russian raw materials and equipment necessary for the maintenance of the Druzhba pipeline, which carries oil from Russia to its territory.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto also clarified that the pipeline maintenance equipment, including the metering station, is exempt from sanctions, ensuring the pipeline’s full operability for future oil supplies.

The new round of restrictive measures targets an additional 83 actors, consisting of 48 individuals and 35 entities, and responds to the need to counter Moscow’s initiatives through its shadow fleet. A Chinese firm specialized in the production of satellite imagery, notably to the benefit of Russia’s military-industrial complex, along with its chairman and two senior officials in the Korean People’s Army, were also included.

Further vessels were banned from port access and from providing a broad range of services. The list now counts 153 designated vessels that are used to circumvent the oil price cap mechanism.

An additional 53 entities were also added to the list of actors affected by an export restriction of dual-use goods and technologies and other items that can contribute to the technological enhancement of Russia’s defense and security sector. In its proposal, the EU Commission found that two-thirds of these actors are third-country entities.

With the same decision, EU Ministers expanded the list of restricted items that contribute to the technological enhancement of Russia’s defense and security sector by adding items for the development and production of Russia’s military systems, such as chemical precursors to Chloropicrin and other riot control agents, software related to computer numerical control (CNC) machines, chromium compounds and controllers used to guide Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).

The decision also concerns further restrictions on exports of goods that contribute to the enhancement of Russian industrial capabilities (chemicals, some plastics, and rubber) and their transit through Russia, as well as further restrictions on the import of primary aluminum, which generates significant revenues for Russia.

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, highlighted that the EU will increase punitive sanctions on Russia unless Moscow demonstrates by facts the true willingness to achieve a lasting and just peace agreement.

The new mass of sanctions saw the light while the High Representative Kaja Kallas told journalists that the work continues on a 17th package. EU Ministers were also informed of a new initiative for additional military support to Ukraine that the European Commission will present to the extraordinary European Council convened for March 6th. “Details and numbers have to be decided by them,” Kallas said in a press conference. Media in Brussels are rumoring about a proposal of 6- or 10-billion euros that could be based on gross national income contributions by Member States.

The EU Foreign Affairs Council also decided to suspend several restrictive measures imposed on various entities and areas in the energy and transport sectors in Syria. Measures in oil, gas, and electricity production and trade were suspended.

The decision aimed to introduce exemptions to the prohibition of establishing banking relations between Syrian banks and financial institutions operating in the territories of the EU Member States to allow transactions associated with the energy and transport sectors. A humanitarian exemption was extended indefinitely. At the same time, listings related to the Al-Assad regime, the chemical weapons sector, and the illicit drug trade are still in place.

Kallas said that the sanctions are reversible and that further decisions are conditioned on a step-for-step approach.

Discussions are sparking through corridors on the call to review the Memorandum of understanding with Ruanda. The agreement was reached in February 2024 to align the EU supply chain with the block due diligence standards and to pave the way for further partnership in this domain. The European Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Suica, stated that suspending the deal is self-defeating since it will erode leeway for the EU to have a dialogue with Kigali to relinquish its support to M23 rebels and their violence in the East Democratic Republic of Congo.