EU drafting 12th package of sanctions against Russia: what it might include

The European Union began preparing the 12th package of sanctions against Russia. New restrictive measures may be introduced in October, writes Bloomberg.

The sanctions package will include a ban on the import of diamonds from Russia, which was previously agreed upon by the Group of Seven (G7). The mechanism provides for the tracking of rough diamonds, the immediate introduction of a direct embargo from January 1, and a gradual indirect embargo.

Also, the European Union can finally propose a mechanism for using profits from frozen assets of Russia to help Ukraine. It was announced back in June, but has not been presented yet.

Poland and the Baltic states propose not to limit themselves to this and introduce additional sanctions against Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) and Russian IT services. Also, these countries once again propose to impose sanctions on Russia's nuclear sector.

The previous, 11th package of sanctions, was adopted by the European Union in June 2023. Its main focus was a new mechanism for combating the circumvention of sanctions through third countries.

On September 8, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the counteroffensive is proceeding faster than the introduction of new sanctions.

A few days after that, the United States announced a new large package of sanctions against Russia, which included, in particular, the main Russian car factories and dozens of other companies and individuals.