The package still needs to be approved by the 27 member states. According to Reuters, countries are “on track” to do so before the first anniversary of the war. “The package must be ready in good time. There are no major bottlenecks,” an EU diplomat told Reuters.
Maximum impact
The package, worth eleven billion euros, focuses on electronics, machine parts and spare parts for trucks and jet engines, among other things. Parts which, according to commission chairman Von der Leyen, cannot be supplied by other countries. ‘This gives maximum impact. We’re building up the pressure.’
The Commission also wants an export ban on parts that Russia can use in weapon systems or, for example, drones and thermal imaging cameras. Also, people who ‘spread Putin’s propaganda’ are to be placed on the European sanctions list.
Significant
Despite nine previous sanctions packages, the Russian economy is still holding up well. However, the sanctions make sense, says CDA MEP Esther de Lange, also deputy chair of the EPP group.
‘This package also has an impact. There are already flights to Russia that are being canceled because there are no spare parts for the planes. And Russia’s gross domestic product decreased by almost 4%. Russia feels the economic pain of the war and certainly also of the sanctions.’
He stresses, however, that sooner or later sanctions will become obsolete. “Sanctions are long-winded – they are circumvented, so you have to fix them.”
NATO show
In terms of military support, Brussels sometimes lacks leverage, De Lange also says. “This is still NATO’s big show. Europe is an economic giant, but an absolute military dwarf. It is good that military support is also being discussed in Europe and that there are no taboos”.
De Lange sees that Eastern European member states are increasingly taking the lead in these discussions. “You notice that these countries are taking on an increasingly important role in Brussels, because of course they are also much closer to this conflict.”
The MEP would prefer to involve the UK more in these discussions from a European perspective. “In an ideal world you should have some sort of European Security Council, with EU countries and the UK in it.”
Also listen | “Europe is still an absolute dwarf in the military field”