EU strikes a critical blow with 14th sanctions package on russia

After more than a month of talks, European Union member states agreed, approving the 14th package of sanctions on Russia. The new restrictions aim to hinder the Kremlin's access to critical technologies and limit Russia's revenues from the energy sector. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, conveyed this information.

Von der Leyen expressed her satisfaction with the agreement in a post on the X platform. "This hard-hitting package will further deny Russia access to key technologies," she wrote. The EC president also emphasised that the new sanctions will "strip Russia of further energy revenues" and "and tackle Putin’s shadow fleet and shadow banking network abroad."

The European Commission presented the proposal for the 14th package of sanctions at the beginning of May. At that time, it proposed that the European Union ban ships carrying Russian goods that generate significant profits for the Kremlin from departing European ports.

In practice, this means, among other things, a ban on re-exporting Russian liquefied natural gas through EU ports. However, this proposal does not include limiting the export of Russian LNG to Europe itself.

According to information obtained from diplomatic sources, Germany raised concerns regarding the new sanctions. The German government feared that businesses would have to bear too many consequences for potentially violating the new restrictions.