On 15 March 2022, the European Commission has announced that the EU with international partners, notably the U.S, together with other World Trade Organization (WTO) members, agree on the fourth package of restrictive measures against Russia in response to Russian attacks on Ukraine and its civilians.
“The bloc in consultation with our international partners has approved the fourth package of sanctions targeting individuals and entities involved in the aggression against Ukraine, as well as several sectors of the Russian economy.” – said the EU presidency held by France.
As the official press release of the European Commission stays, the list of agreed restrictive measures will be implemented:
- A full prohibition of any transactions with certain Russian State-owned enterprises across different sectors – the Kremlin’s military-industrial complex.
- An EU import ban on those steel products is currently under EU safeguard measures, amounting to approximately € 3.3 billion in lost export revenue for Russia. Increased import quotas will be distributed to other third countries to compensate.
- A far-reaching ban on new investment across the Russian energy sector, with limited exceptions for civil nuclear energy and the transport of certain energy products back to the EU.
- An EU export ban on luxury goods (e.g. luxury cars, jewellery, etc.) to directly hit Russian elites.
- Moreover, the list of sanctioned persons and entities has been further extended to include more oligarchs and business elites linked to the Kremlin, as well as companies active in military and defence areas, which are logistically and materially supporting the invasion. There are also new listings of actors active in disinformation.
- A ban on the rating of Russia and Russian companies by EU credit rating agencies and the provision of rating services to Russian clients, which would result in them losing even further access to the EU’s financial markets.
“The bloc also approved a declaration to the World Trade Organization on suspending the application of the most-favoured-nation clause for Russia and suspending the examination of Belarus’ application for accession to the WTO.” said the French presidency
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has stated that the EU will work in lockstep with the Group of Seven countries to ramp up the pressure against the Russian Federation and the fourth package of sanctions will further isolate Russia and drain the resources it uses to finance this barbaric war.
