This European Commission speed up negotiations New set of sanctions against Russiaeleventh since president Vladimir Putin A little over a year ago he gave the order to invade Ukraine. close the gaps and prevent the Kremlin from finding escape routes. The “confessors” to whom each delegation can express their red lines, behind closed doors bilateral talks began this Friday. Various European capitalsFrom Warsaw to Vilnius, via Berlin, they’re putting pressure on Brussels, so the new round is not only tackling cheats, but also piercing the sectors hitherto freed from sanctions: diamonds, liquefied natural gas and, above all, nuclear energy.
“We need to increase the sanctions pressure on Russia,” the Polish Foreign Minister warned this Friday, Rau Zbigniewahead of a meeting of foreign ministers in Luxembourg this Monday, which will try to reach a political agreement in the eleventh round. Like its Baltic neighbors, Warsaw feels that the fight against fraud is not enough, that it is necessary to continue to hit the Russian economy, and this includes punishing by limiting sectors such as the Russian nuclear industry. nuclear fuel importslimit Russian-made new reactor investments implementation of restrictive measures against the chairman and members of the board of directors, rosatomaThe state-owned nuclear power giant that currently controls Ukraine’s Zaporizhia power plant.
The four of them have been pressing for a year and demand restrictive measures in this area, but are not successful due to the veto of similar countries. Hungary – Dependency on some partners that have signed a contract with the Russian giant to expand the Pak nuclear power plant – and continue to operate Russian-made nuclear reactors in Eastern and Northern Europe, for example Finland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Bulgaria. In other words, banning the import of 750 million Russian nuclear fuel in 2022 could become a short-term problem with no alternative. “France is not dependent at this point, but there are other member states that are clear in their opposition. Ending addiction is not clear, but countries are working on it,” he said.
In recent weeks, advocates of punishing the Russian nuclear industry have added a powerful ally: Germany. Last week, the German Economy Minister said, “It is important that we start to take decisive steps in this area and that we do not hesitate.” Robert Habeck. “Continuing to receive preferential treatment cannot be justified. Nuclear technology is an extremely sensitive area and Russia can no longer be considered a reliable partner in this area. Kazakhstan and Niger. In Berlin, they accept that it is impossible to cut it overnight and are determined to start moving forward “step by step”. It’s always an uncertain path, as any decision requires unanimity.
The fall of the “Russian fortress”
Beyond the nuclear industry, the four countries that want to be tough on Moscow also want the EU to ban the import of diamonds and liquefied natural gas from Russia. “Additional sanctions may increase pressure,” Ukrainian think tank says in its latest analysis KSE Institute He believes that “Russia’s stronghold” has cracked under the sanctions, thanks to the sharp decline in energy revenues, the widening budget deficit and the depreciation of the ruble, and that he believes the expansion of sanctions could make the blow even bigger. For example, Diamond exports to the EU It brings about 2,000 million euros to Russia every year. According to the Belgian economy ministry, 21% of the diamonds arriving in Antwerp came from Russia. Alrosa mining company, 33 percent of which is in the hands of the Russian state, is not among the companies that have been sanctioned so far.
Another sector that has been excluded from the sanctions so far is liquefied natural gas (LNG), whose shipments to the EU have increased despite continuing to be lower than pipeline gas imports (155,000 million cubic meters before the war). ). ban Russian LNG importsImporting Russian gas through Moscow-controlled pipelines and charging oil products at a lower price ($50) would reduce Russia’s revenues by: Another $49 billion in 2023 And 69,000 million in 2024According to estimates by the KSE Institute, which thinks that 27 have room to further increase the pressure by restricting their trade. diamonds, iron ore, uranium, timber and steel products, as well as limiting the price of fertilizers unless they are exported from the port of Odessa. Expulsion, alongside full sanctions on Gazprom and Russian oil companies, as well as personal sanctions on board members gazprombank Swift payment system.