EU plans to impose embargo on Russian aluminum in 13th sanction package
Photo: From open sources
The European Union plans to introduce an embargo against Russian aluminum within the 13th package of sanctions.
Politico writes about that.
The biggest problem is that it is increasingly difficult for the European Union to find large targets for introducing sanctions, the publication notes.
Nuclear energy or liquefied natural gas (LNG) remains off-limits due to the position of various EU countries.
Rosatom is building two new reactors for Hungary, which is why it does not allow sanctions to be imposed on the Russian nuclear sector, and many countries, primarily Spain, import Russian LNG.
Therefore, within the framework of the 13th package of sanctions, the European Union plans to focus its attention not on Russian exports but on Russian imports.
According to one of the diplomats with whom the publication spoke, the European Union plans to consider an embargo on several goods. Still, negotiations on this matter are at an early stage.
Yes, since the process of smelting aluminum requires a considerable amount of electricity, sanctions against aluminum will simultaneously become sanctions against the energy sector.
EU countries want to create additional obstacles for Russia to acquire components it cannot produce and needs for high-tech weapons, such as guided missiles.
But even here, the results are ambiguous. According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Gabrielus Landsbergis, the fight against the circumvention of sanctions remains a significant pain point for the EU.
"The difficulty is that some of these components don't fall under the sanctions because they can be in something that, at first glance, looks quite harmless. We call it refrigerator parts. And the Russians take it apart and then use it," he explained.
They want to agree on the 13th package of sanctions by February 24, the second anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion.
For reference:
At the beginning of January, Zelensky already stated that Russia had learned to circumvent Western sanctions, which were introduced against Moscow for its full-scale war against Ukraine.
Politico also wrote that Russia largely manages to circumvent sanctions in the technology field. This enables Moscow to produce weapons and continue the war against Ukraine.
It should be noted that, on December 18, the EU adopted the 12th package of economic and individual sanctions against Russia.
As the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, stated, the EU proposed "a powerful set of new lists and economic measures that will further weaken the Russian military machine."
