EU omits russian nuclear industry from latest sanctions

In the 10^th sanctions package, the European Commission abandoned plans to impose sanctions on russia's nuclear sector or its representatives.

Politico writes about this with reference to the information provided by three diplomats.

Initially, the European Commission informed the EU countries that it would try to develop sanctions aimed at Russia's civilian nuclear sector. And on the eve of the EU leaders' meeting last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the bloc at least to introduce sanctions against the russian nuclear power company "Rosatom."

But that plan failed, three diplomats say, pointing to the latest sanctions drafts.

Hungary has long opposed targeting the nuclear sector, pointing to its dependence on "Rosatom." To overcome a potential Hungarian veto, the EU considered listing individual employees of Rosatom and other companies but ultimately decided not to do so.

"Hungary doesn't let it through, as their nuclear plant is owned by Rosatom, and they say it produces 50 percent of the country's energy supply. But sanctions against individuals (other than the CEO) should not impact energy security," said a senior EU diplomat.

Some EU diplomats expressed disappointment over the move.

"It's sad. Regarding the nuclear section … nobody told us that it's not ok or will be a problem. That's why we're surprised," one of the diplomats said.

For reference:

On February 15, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, presented the official proposal for the tenth package of sanctions against russia.

The proposal calls for further export bans worth more than 11 billion euros to deprive the russian economy of critical technologies and manufactured goods.