The EU foreign ministers will discuss tightening sanctions against Russia on Monday. Among other things, a gold embargo is under discussion.
Brussels – This Monday (July 18) the foreign ministers of the European Union will discuss tightening sanctions against Russia for the attack on Ukraine. From 9.30 a.m. the ministers – including the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kulebo – will talk about an import stop for Russian gold, which the EU Commission is proposing, as well as tougher conditions for the export of European goods, which Russia could also use militarily, the news agency reports AFP .
In addition, further military aid in the amount of 500 million euros for Ukraine is to be launched – corresponding considerations have been going on for several weeks. This would bring the funds granted since the beginning of the Ukraine conflict at the end of February to a total of 2.5 billion euros.
War in Ukraine: The sanctions against Russia are already having an effect
If there are no objections, the written decision-making process is to be initiated on Wednesday (July 20). According to information from the German Press Agency , the punitive measures could come into force this week.
The EU sanctions previously imposed on Russia are already having an effect despite the relatively short period of time: Russian export business, which had a volume of more than 73 billion euros a year before the war, has now been restricted, experts from the EU Commission confirmed to dpa . 48 percent of Russia’s previous exports to the EU are affected by the sanctions.
In addition, in the period of around four months since the beginning of the war, Russian assets of Russian oligarchs and supporters of Vladimir Putin in the amount of around 13.8 billion euros have been frozen – billions in reserves of the Russian central bank can no longer be accessed either.
Ukraine war: The effects of the sanctions on Russia are expected to grow
The dpa reports that the effects of the sanctions will become even greater over time. The EU forecast: This year, Russian economic output will fall by 10.4 percent.
In addition to the war in Ukraine, relations between the EU and Latin America and Israel are also an issue at the Council of Foreign Ministers. Minister of State for Europe Anna Lührmann (Greens) is expected to attend the meeting as Germany’s representative.
Although China had spoken out against sanctions for Russia, China is now following the West: with fewer exports. The left continues to argue about the sanctions against Russia and calls for “nonsensical sanctions to be lifted immediately”. However, breaching EU sanctions is out of the question. (lsm with dpa/AFP)
