EU Targets Circumvention in 15th Sanctions Package on Russia, Belarus
The EU on Dec. 16 announced its 15th sanctions package against Russia, designating nearly 100 new people and entities and taking other measures designed to prevent circumvention of EU sanctions.
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The individual listings target 54 people and 30 entities, including defense and shipping companies responsible for transporting crude oil and oil products by sea, a chemical plant and a civil Russian airline. For the first time, the EU said it's imposing "fully-fledged sanctions" on "various Chinese actors supplying drone components and microelectronic components in support of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine."
To address evasion of its oil price cap mechanism and other related sanctions, the bloc added 52 vessels from third countries to a list of vessels subject to a port access ban and ban on provision of a "broad range of services related to maritime transport." The council said the total number of vessels from "Russia's shadow fleet" now subject to sanctions is 79.
The EU also added 32 entities to the list of companies directly supporting Russia's military industrial complex, subjecting them to export controls on dual-use goods and technologies and goods that could contribute to enhancing Russia's defense sector. Some of these entities come from third countries, including China, India, Iran, Serbia and the United Arab Emirates.
To shield EU companies from litigation with Russian companies, the bloc also announced a prohibition on the recognition or enforcement in the EU of rulings issued by Russian courts. The rulings have prevented opposing parties from beginning or continuing proceedings in jurisdictions other than Russia in violation of international "principles and practices," the EU said.
The sanctions package also included a "derogation" allowing the release of cash balances held by EU central securities depositories and an extension of the "deadlines applicable to certain derogations needed for divestments from Russia."
The EU also added 26 people and two entities to its Belarus restrictions regime. The people include members of the judiciary and correctional institutions, business owners and board members who have all benefited from President Aleksandr Lukashenko's regime.
The listed entities include Vlate Logistik, a Belarusian transport and storage company that owns two border checkpoints on the EU-Belarus border, and Ruzekspeditsiya, a company that helps circumvent EU sanctions by "participating in the delivery of cars prohibited to be sold, supplied, transferred or exported from the EU to Belarus."