EU leaders to call for more sanctions targeting Belarus, North Korea, Iran

EU leaders are next week expected to call for new sanctions targeting Belarus, North Korea, and Iran over their support to Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine as the bloc attempts to further crack down on circumvention by third countries.

“Russia’s access to sensitive items and technologies with battlefield relevance must continue to be restricted,” state early draft conclusions of next week’s EU summit, seen by Euractiv.

This would include “targeting entities in third countries enabling this illicit trade,” the conclusions say.

For that, EU leaders are expected to task the EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell, its diplomatic service EEAS, and the European Commission “to prepare further sanctions against Belarus, North Korea and Iran”.

They are also expected to call on third parties “to immediately cease providing material support to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine”.

“Reports that Iran may transfer ballistic missiles and related technology to Russia for use against Ukraine are very concerning,” EU leaders are expected to say, and add that “the European Union is prepared to respond swiftly and in coordination with international partners, including with new and significant measures against Iran”.

The EU has been tightening the enforcement of existing restrictions under the 13 rounds of restrictive measures agreed over the past two years in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In the first attempt to tighten restrictions, a modest package of sanctions aimed at Russia last month focused on enforcing existing restrictions by adding mainland Chinese, as well as Turkish and Indian firms, to a list of companies that EU businesses were banned from dealing with.

Those were accused of involvement in supplying sensitive military technology to Russia that was ending up on the Ukrainian battlefield.

According to several EU diplomats, work on the 14th round of sanctions is expected to start soon with focus on sectorial aspects that remain unaddressed.

The step comes amid fears that EU sanctions on Russia are being “massively circumvented” via third countries, as a recent study revealed, corroborating mounting concerns that large portions of European exports to other jurisdictions are ultimately re-directed to Russia.

EU leaders will next week also discuss progress on how to use frozen Russian central bank assets.  Western nations have frozen about €260 billion in securities and cash, more than two-thirds of it located inside the EU.

The bloc is moving forward with a plan to apply a windfall tax to the profits generated by the frozen assets and to use that money for Ukraine.

EU leaders will “review progress on the next concrete steps towards directing extraordinary revenues stemming from Russia’s immobilised assets for the benefit of Ukraine, including for funding of military support”, the early draft conclusions state.

After European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said last month the proceeds should be used to buy weapons for Kyiv, EU leaders are now expected to invite the EU’s diplomatic service and the European Commission “to swiftly proceed with the next steps in order to take work forward”.

[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]

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