EU postpones 19th sanctions package: Austria blocks approval

The European Union has postponed approval of its 19th sanctions package until next week due to Austria’s position, Presidential Commissioner for Sanctions Policy Vladyslav Vlasiuk said on Facebook.

"[On Friday] the 19th package was not adopted, but the Austrian amendment seems to have been rejected," he wrote.

According to diplomatic sources cited by Reuters, Austrian officials said they would not support new sanctions against Russia unless the EU unblocked some Russian assets to compensate Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank for fines imposed by a Russian court.

Other EU members rejected the proposal, arguing that it would effectively legitimize Russian court rulings to confiscate Western assets. They fear such a move could create a dangerous precedent, triggering an exchange of European corporate assets in Russia for frozen Russian assets in Europe.

"If we go down this path, we risk unblocking a significant amount of Russian assets, and I don’t think that’s what we want," one source told Reuters.

"All other countries opposed it, including Germany and France," another source added.

Vlasiuk said the next attempt to approve the 19th sanctions package would take place "next week."

"Sanctions packages from Canada and the UK will follow very quickly," he added.

• The European Commission first proposed the 19th package on September 19. It targets energy, banking, and exports of goods and technologies, and includes a ban on Russian liquefied natural gas starting January 1, 2027.