Brussels speeds up work on 10th sanctions package to adopt it by February – media

In Brussels, representatives of the EU member states accelerated work on the tenth sanctions package against russia. They want to adopt the new package before the EU-Ukraine summit in Kyiv, which will be held at the beginning of February.

The Polish agency PAP reports this.

The ninth package of EU sanctions was adopted in December. Although the member states, who favor a tougher sanctions policy against russia, were not entirely satisfied with this decision.

Convincing countries adopted the package with a more radical view of sanctions against russia that the EU should demonstrate unity on this issue at the end of the year.

As a result, some countries agreed to make concessions. They also gave up part of their demands to reach a consensus among the 27 EU member states.

Work on the following package has recently gained momentum in Brussels. EC chief Ursula von der Leyen hinted at issue on Tuesday.

"We will pressure the Kremlin with sanctions as long as necessary. We will extend sanctions to those who militarily support russia's war, such as belarus and Iran," she said.

Information from PAP sources suggests that concrete actions follow this rhetoric. This was confirmed by the Permanent Representative of Poland to the EU, Andrzej Sadoś.

"The work has accelerated. In the group of like-minded countries, Poland is now proposing further sanctions. Strengthening existing restrictions is also an ongoing process," he said.

According to the EU diplomat, the acceleration is the upcoming EU-Ukraine summit, and the catalyst is the approach to the war anniversary.

EU diplomats are reluctant to talk about the new package details because they stress it is important not to lose the effect of surprise.

"An attempt is being made again to extend sanctions on the export of russian diamonds. The cost of diamond exports to the russian budget is estimated at 4.5 billion euros. This is a considerable amount," the EU diplomat said.

The new sanctions will also apply to products that the russian military could potentially use. Sanction lists are also planned to be expanded. It will include more persons responsible for russia's aggression against Ukraine and war crimes.

belarus will also be subject to new sanctions for supporting russia's military actions against Ukraine. In this case, according to one of the diplomats, we are talking about "synchronizing belarusian sanctions with russian ones, especially sectoral ones, in those areas where Minsk cooperates with Moscow in military terms."

The adoption of sanctions in the EU always requires unanimity. In this context, some diplomats fear that Hungary may delay the adoption of new restrictions, as it has done in the past.

The Hungarians have already declared that they will not agree with some names on the sanctions lists. It can be expected that there will be further tensions in relations with Budapest, the EU representative said.

Earlier, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, advocated that in 2023, the West should introduce sanctions against the russian Patriarch Kirill (Vladimir Gundyaev) and lead to the overthrow of russia's defense complex.