Fight against Russia: EU decides ideal sanction package!

Fight against Russia: EU decides ideal sanction package!

On Tuesday, May 20, 2025, the EU Foreign and Defense Minister of the EU meet in Brussels to advise on decisive measures to support Ukraine and to tighten sanctions against Russia. Austria is represented by Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP) and Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger (NEOS). The ministerial consultations begin at 9:30 a.m. with questions of military upgrading and support measures for Ukraine, followed by the Foreign Ministry, which will discuss a new sanction package from 2 p.m. href = "https://www.kosmo.at/meinl-reisinger-und-tanner-in-bruessel-ukraine-help-im-fokus/"> Kosmo .

The EU's 17th sanction package is directed against the Russian shadow fleet, which continues to transport oil and oil products and deals with sanctions. The formal approval of this package is still pending, although an agreement has already been reached at the ambassador level. The measures include sanctions against around 200 ships that will not have access to EU ports, and numerous companies and natural persons who are to be placed on the previous sanction list, adds Tagesschau .

sanctions in detail

The European sanctions have been adapted several times since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. A total of 16 sanction packages have so far been decided, with the EU evaluating the existing measures in the last session and considering potential tightening. The current status comprises almost 2,400 people and facilities that have received entry bans and whose assets are frozen. The sanctions also include comprehensive export bans for military-usable products and luxury goods, and 90 percent of oil imports from Russia are subject to an embargo, so WKO .

An additional attention is paid to the intended ban on payment transactions with Russian banks and the forbidden overflowing of EU territory by Russian airlines. The value of the articles, which have not been exported to Russia since February 2022, amounts to 48 billion euros, while the imports of Russia have decreased by more than half of the level before the invasion.

future measures and challenges

The EU Commission, chaired by Ursula von der Leyen, plans to tighten the sanctions against the Russian financial sector. It is planned to reduce the oil price lid, which is currently $ 60 per barrel of Russian crude oil. In addition, possible sanctions against the inactivated Baltic Sea pipelines north stream 1 and 2 are discussed. Despite these efforts, there are concerns that stronger measures could have negative effects on future relationships with Russia, and critics warn of legal problems, especially with regard to Russia's frozen assets of 210 billion euros that could be used for the reconstruction of Ukraine.

The challenges in front of Europe are huge. The ministers will therefore have to deal again with the question of whether the sanction measures meet the progress gained in conflict and what paths there are to put pressure on Russia without endangering current economic relationships.