Petroleum, Russia’s largest bank (Sberbank), propagandist television stations as well as military and other officials identified as war criminals in Boutcha and Mariupol are included in the sixth package of sanctions that EU member states could approve soon, Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen announced to the European Parliament on Wednesday.
After decreeing a gradual embargo on Russian coal in its fifth set of sanctions, the EU is preparing to hit the Russian economy once again on its energy side, this time targeting oil, again in a gradual way, in the hope of drying up funding for Vladimir Putin’s “war machine”.
Stop Russian oil in 6 months to a year
“Let’s be clear: it won’t be easy”warned Mrs Von der Leyen, while the Member States must decide on adjustments for some of them, such as Hungary or Slovakia, which are heavily dependent on Russian oil and weakened because of their lack of access to sea. “We will phase out Russian deliveries of crude oil within six months and of refined products by the end of the year. This will put maximum pressure on Russia, while minimizing collateral damage for us and our partners around the world”explained Mrs. Von der Leyen, in front of the MEPs gathered in Strasbourg.
Freezing of the assets of high-ranking soldiers and 58 personalities of the head of the Russian Church
The EU also includes in its individual sanctions list high-ranking military officers and others whom it accuses of having committed war crimes in Boutcha or of being responsible for the siege “inhuman” of Marioupol. “We are thus sending another strong signal to all those who wage the Kremlin war: we know who you are, and you will be held accountable for your actions.”
The European Commission is also proposing to sanction the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, as well as the boss of the Russian telecoms policeman Roskomnadzor, Andrei Lipov, according to a document consulted on Wednesday by AFP. The European executive, however, refused to confirm or deny this type of information at this stage. The new list would include 58 sanctioned personalities (entry ban and freezing of assets in the EU), including many Russian soldiers, but also the wife, daughter and son of Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov.
Three Russian banks excluded from the SWIFT system
Again targeted, Russian banks, with the exclusion of the SWIFT interbank exchange system of Sberbank, the first bank in Russia, which controls nearly 70% of the sector, as well as two other large banks, continued Ms Von der Leyen. Seven Russian banks have already been sanctioned by the EU so far.
Russian state televisions that serve propaganda blocked in Europe
The EU is also expected to block its airwaves from three major Russian state broadcasters. “These TV channels are aggressively amplifying Putin’s lies, we must not give them free rein to spread these lies any longer”, said the head of the European executive, without however naming these media. They will no longer be allowed to distribute their content in the European Union in any way, whether by cable, satellite, internet or smartphone apps.
Stop European consultants in Russia
Finally, the EU should ban the supply to the Kremlin and to Russian companies of the services of European accountants, consultants and communication advisers.
Measures also to support Ukraine … including a plan that could lead to EU membership
The German also challenged MEPs on the reconstruction of Ukraine. Beyond macro-financial assistance measures and direct support to the Ukrainian budget, the Commission recently proposed to suspend all import duties on Ukrainian exports to the EU for one year. “I am sure that the European Parliament will give its full support to this proposal”slipped Ursula von der Leyen.
Ukraine’s GDP is set to fall by 30% to 50% this year alone and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that from May Ukraine will need as much as 5 billion euros every month to be able to continue to operate, pay pensions and salaries and finance basic services, according to the Commission. “We must help it, but we cannot do it alone. I welcome the massive budget support announced by the United States. And we, as Team Europe (the Commission and the Member States, editor’s note) will also do our part”.
Ursula von der Leyen also mentioned the “hundreds of billions of euros” which will be needed to rebuild the hospitals and schools, housing, roads, bridges, railways, theaters and factories destroyed in the Russian invasion. Ursula Von der Leyen therefore offered to start working today at “an ambitious recovery plan for our Ukrainian friends”. This plan should make it possible to attract massive investments to the destroyed country, while helping to carry out “necessary reforms”.
In doing so, Mrs Von der Leyen is sending a nuanced response to Ukraine’s request for rapid accession to the European Union, which several Member States are holding back in view of the reforms to be carried out to reach European standards. This plan could indeed establish a system of stages and targets capable of guaranteeing that European funds will really be spent for the benefit of the Ukrainian population and in compliance with EU rules, according to the German.
It could help fight corruption, align the legal environment with European standards and radically modernize Ukraine’s production capacity. “Ultimately, this plan will pave the way for Ukraine’s future within the European Union”concluded the President of the Commission.