In a statement made on the 5th of April, Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the EU Commission outlined EU proposals for additional sanctions against Russia.

The new measures will include:

  • An import ban on coal from Russia, worth EUR 4 billion per year.
  • A full transaction ban on four key Russian banks. The President of the EU Commission mentioned that VTB, the second largest Russian bank, will be one of the four banks.
  • A ban on Russian vessels and Russian-operated vessels from accessing EU ports. Certain exemptions will cover essentials, such as agricultural and food products, humanitarian aid as well as energy. Additionally, there will be a ban on Russian and Belarusian road transport operators.
  • Further targeted export bans, worth EUR 10 billion, in areas such as quantum computers and advanced semiconductors, but also sensitive machinery and transportation equipment.
  • New import bans, worth EUR 5.5 billion, on products from wood to cement and from seafood to liquor.
  • A number of very targeted measures, such as a general EU ban on participation of Russian companies in public procurement in Member States, or an exclusion of all financial support, be it European or national, to Russian public bodies.
  • Further listings of individuals and entities.

These proposals will be discussed by the EU Member States with a view to obtaining a unanimous agreement among the 27 member states.

Author

Sunwinder (Sunny) Mann is a Partner and is Chair of our International Commercial and Trade Global Practice Group. Our Trade team has been ranked Tier 1 by Legal 500 UK for over 20 years. He is currently based in our London office, but has also worked in our offices in Washington, D.C., New York, Sydney and Hong Kong. Sunny's practice focuses on international trade compliance and, in particular, export controls and trade sanctions, as well as anti-bribery. He has worked on a number of significant compliance and investigations matters. He leads our Firm's Geopolitical Risks Taskforce, having coordinated our Firm's support to clients responding to the ongoing Russia crisis.