The EU has
extended sanctions imposed on Russian individuals, organizations and businesses
over the conflict in Ukraine. EU foreign ministers have also agreed on
proposals to impose tougher sanctions on Russia.
Deutsche Welle, 26 July 2014
A document
published in the European Union's Official Journal late on Friday listed 15 new
individuals and 18 organizations or businesses to be added to the bloc's
already existing sanctions list.
Among the
new individuals added to the list were Alexander Bortnikov, the head of the
Federal Security Service (FSB); Sergei Beseda, the head of the FSB's department
responsible for international operations and intelligence; and the head of the
Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, Mikhail Fradkov.
The
organizations added to the list on Friday included a number of separatist rebel
groups operating in eastern Ukraine.
The new
measures took effect immediately after they were published in the Official
Journal, which is the EU's gazette of record.
This
brought the total number of individuals on the list to 87, along with 20
organizations or businesses.
Proposed
tougher economic measures
Earlier on
Friday, EU ambassadors agreed on proposals to impose tougher penalties on Russia over the Ukraine crisis.
Among other
things, the new sanctions would close EU capital markets to Russia's
state-owned banks, and impose an embargo on arms sales and restrictions on the
export to Russia of dual-use and energy technologies. European Council President
Herman van Rompuy said the sanctions would only apply to future contracts,
meaning that France would be free to proceed with the controversial delivery of
Mistral helicopter carriers to Russia.
Van Rompuy
also wrote to the leaders of the EU's 28 member states to ask them to authorize
their ambassadors to give final approval to the agreement at a meeting on
Tuesday, thus avoiding the need for the heads of state and government to travel
to Brussels for a special summit.
European
Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso also endorsed the draft legal text
agreed on Friday.
"The
final decision now lies with the EU's member states, but I believe that this is
an effective, well-targeted and balanced package providing the flexibility to
adjust our reaction to changes on the ground," Barroso saidn in a
statement released by his office. "I hope that member states will agree on
this package of restrictive measures next week."
Until now
at least, the EU has been more reluctant than the US to adopt tough economic
sanctions against Russia. However, the alleged shooting down of Malaysia
Airlines flight MH17, which crashed in eastern Ukraine last week, killing all
298 people on board, appears to have changed attitudes in the bloc. Almost
200 of the victims were Dutch nationals.
pfd/mkg (AP, AFP, Reuters)
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