European Union proposes new sanctions against Russia

The European Union executive proposed on Wednesday fresh sanctions against Russia over its war against Ukraine, including tighter trade restrictions, more individual blacklistings and an oil price cap for third countries.

The proposal will now go to the bloc’s 27 member countries, which will need to overcome their differences on the new sanctions in order to implement them.
That may take time despite the EU being spurred into action by Russia’s military mobilisation, nuclear threats and moving to annex a swath of Ukraine more than 200 days after invading the former Soviet republic that now wants to join the EU.

“We do not accept the sham referenda nor any kind of annexation in Ukraine. And we are determined to make the Kremlin pay the price for this further escalation,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters.

“We are proposing a new package of biting sanctions against Russia.”

The G7 group of industrialised countries - of which EU countries Italy, France and Germany are also members - already agreed to put such an oil price cap in place via insurers.
Earlier on Wednesday, a senior economic adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on the EU to further cut money flows to Russia from fossil fuel sales.

“If you are doing nothing it means you are just prolonging this war with Ukraine, this is just ridiculous, the whole civilised world has to be united on that,” said Oleg Ustenko.
- Hindustan Times, 28 Sept, 2022