Expected in late June or early July, the 21st sanctions package will also likely target Russian banks, financial institutions and military-industrial companies as well as firms selling stolen Ukrainian grain, according to seven EU officials and diplomats with knowledge of the discussions, who were granted anonymity to discuss the preparations.
Officials also see a chance to move ahead with sanctions previously blocked by the government of Viktor Orbán, the former Hungarian prime minister. Among them are measures targeting senior members of the Russian Orthodox Church, notably its leader Patriarch Kirill, a close ally of Putin’s who has lauded the Ukraine invasion.
The European Commission may also revive the idea of a ban on maritime services for Russian vessels, which has so far been blocked by Malta and Greece, one of the diplomats argued.
“Following Hungarian elections, there is a new momentum” for sanctions, chief EU diplomat Kaja Kallas told reporters after a recent gathering of ministers in Luxembourg. “We should revisit sanctions that have been on the table and not agreed before, but also we should move on with the new sanctions’ package.
‘Worst ever’
The thinking in Brussels is simple — Russia’s economy is “the worst internally it has been since the start of the war,” one senior EU official said. “It really is the moment to push for more because Russia is not doing well.”
Russia was suffering from a “static inflationary shock,” EU economy czar Valdis Dombrovskis suggested to POLITICO. “That’s why we are very much emphasizing in our G7 engagements, in bilateral engagements with U.S. representatives that now is not the time to weaken pressure on Russia.”