New proposals for Russia sanctions revealed – media

Brussels is considering restricting EU exports to third countries to combat sanctions evasion, dpa news agency reports

EU lawmakers are mulling curtailing exports to nations currently able to re-export goods from the bloc to Russia, thus helping the sanction-hit country circumvent the penalties imposed by Brussels over the Ukraine conflict, the German news agency dpa has reported.

The European Commission (EC) reportedly sent a proposal for the measure, which may be included in the 11th package of sanctions on Russia, to member states earlier this week.

The bloc is expected to work on a legal tool that would allow it to restrict supplies from the EU to third countries “as a deterrent” at an early stage. If the measure proves insufficient, Brussels may subsequently block exports of certain goods, primarily those with both civilian and military applications, such as night-vision equipment.

According to the news agency, lawmakers from the 27 member states will discuss the proposal with EC President Ursula von der Leyen later this week.

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The bloc has so far approved and imposed ten rounds of punitive measures against Russia in response to Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine. Brussels’ latest sanctions package is expected to be finalized as soon as this month.

Apart from export controls, the new set of restrictions is expected to include sanctions on people and organizations that Brussels believes support the Russian operation in Ukraine. Von der Leyen had previously said that the new package would include measures aimed at combatting evasion of the existing restrictions.

In April, the Financial Time reported that EU officials were discussing a legal mechanism that would allow Brussels to identify sanctioned products that end up in Russia through third parties, and also countries that resell them. 

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that the G7 nations were discussing a potential outright ban on most exports to Russia as part of a broader agenda to tighten the economic pressure.

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