Ursula von der Leyen outlines three features of next round of EU sanctions

The 11th round of EU sanctions against Russia will consist of adding imported products and strengthening the fight against the circumvention of restrictions against Russia through imports to third countries or shadow entities.

A relevant statement was made by President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen at a joint briefing with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“First, we are sharpening our existing tools: We are adding more products to our transit ban. For example, advanced tech products or aircraft parts that are going to third countries via Russia will no longer end up in the Kremlin's hands,” she noted.

The European Commission President added that the second element is caused by a growth of highly unusual trade flows between the European Union and certain third countries so these goods end up in Russia.

“This is why, secondly, we are proposing a new tool to combat sanctions circumvention. If we see that goods are going from the European Union to third countries and then end up in Russia, we could propose to the Member States to sanction those goods' export,” von der Leyen noted.

The third element is the ban on “shadow” entities from Russia and third countries who are intentionally circumventing our sanctions.

As reported, the 11th round of European Union sanctions against Russia should be adopted no earlier than the second half of May. The European Union intends to impose a ban on the transit of many goods through the territory of the Russian Federation, trying to strengthen compliance with the previously imposed measures.

Video: President’s Office