The EU’s 20th sanctions package, approved last week after Hungary and Slovakia dropped their veto, targets another 20 Russian banks, cutting them off from euro transactions and business in the bloc. The breakthrough on the sanctions came after a dispute over the Druzhba oil pipeline — which carries Russian crude via Ukraine to Central Europe — was resolved.
The package also targets banks and companies in third countries, including China, as part of a broader push to shut down back channels used to support Russia’s war economy, with a strong focus on anti-circumvention measures across trade, energy and financial networks.
French President Emmanuel Macron warned on Friday that Europe is now under pressure from the United States, China and Russia at the same time.
“We should not underestimate that this is a unique moment where a U.S. president, a Russian president, a Chinese president are dead against the Europeans,” Macron said, speaking alongside Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens. The French leader called on the EU to “wake up” and defend its own interests.