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The European Commission has presented the 8th package of sanctions against Russia. This is a response to the illegal “referenda” of the Kremlin in the occupied territories of Ukraine. The approval procedure, as assured by the official representative of the European Commission Dana Spinant, the new restrictions will pass quickly, according to FREEDOM TV channel.
The pseudo-referendum held by the Russian invaders in the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories at gunpoint was not recognized by any democratic country. The European Union said: Russia should be punished for attempting to annex territories and threatening to use nuclear weapons.
“We will not accept sham referendums and any annexation in Ukraine and are determined to make the Kremlin pay for further escalation. Therefore, today we are jointly proposing a new package of tough sanctions against Russia. We propose to introduce new large-scale bans on the import of Russian goods. This will prevent Russian products from entering the European market and deprive Russia of an additional 7 billion euros in revenue,” said head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
The new package of sanctions against the Russian Federation involves restrictions on imports and exports. The EU wants to ban the import from the federation of certain steel products and the export of semiconductors, aircraft and chemicals. The European Commission also recommends the introduction of a legislative framework to determine the marginal price for Russian oil.
“Russian budget revenues from oil and gas are about 30%. Most of it comes from oil. If prices are capped at the level of minimum profitability, which, according to my calculations, is $40 per barrel, then Russian budget revenues will fall by 10-15%. This is very significant,” comments Professor, Rector of the International Institute of Business Oleksandr Savchenko.
Cosmetics, shaving accessories, deodorants – ordinary household items were also included in the list of prohibited items for import into Russia. Soon even toilet paper will become a luxury in the Russian Federation, according to experts.
“Despite Russia exporting timber, that is, it has a lot of cellulose, but there are few other components and technologies, and they buy toilet paper. But they are not used to it. There used to be newspapers, now there are few newspapers, but there are leaves. This corresponds to the level of culture. That is, here the European Union calculated everything correctly: what a cultural level, such hygiene products,” continues Oleksandr Savchenko.
The next step after the recommendations of the European Commission to implement the sanctions is the vote of the EU member states.
“The next step should be the final decision of the representatives of the countries of the European Union, who should approve and unanimously adopt a package of sanctions. If one of the EU countries does not agree, in this way it will be postponed to the next meetings where a consensus can be reached. I can predict that this package will still be approved,” says lawyer Oleg Gorbachev.
At the same time, according to experts, it is not enough to introduce new sanctions against Russia for the unleashed war – it is important to strengthen control over compliance with existing ones. The recognition of Russia as a sponsor of terrorism will make it possible to aggravate the economic isolation of the aggressor country. The international working group of Yermak-McFaul has developed a document that explains the essence and consequences for the federation of this status.
“In practice, Russia’s crimes in Ukraine are actually more than “sponsoring of terrorism,” since the main perpetrator of these terrorist acts is the Russian armed forces, a key institution of the Russian state. The type, scope and purpose of the deliberate, politically motivated violence used by Russia against Ukrainian non-combatants is shocking. The US State Department should recognize the Russian Federation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism. A similar step should be taken by the government of Canada,” reads a statement on the website of the Office of the President of Ukraine.
By assigning this status to Russia, the United States and its allies will be able to impose financial and trade sanctions on any state that, despite an all-out war in Ukraine, continues to cooperate with Russia.
“It is with such a status, which will be granted after the recognition of Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, that it will be more difficult to circumvent sanctions, because there are countries that provide opportunities for circumvention. This will further increase restrictions for ordinary holders of a Russian passport to enjoy the benefits of the Western world, to conduct any banking operations on the territory of Western countries,” explains Oleg Gorbachev.
The White House is not yet ready to recognize the Russian Federation as a sponsor of terrorism. Explains this with possible negative consequences. The new status for the Russian Federation is the threat of a fragile arrangement on safe navigation and the deprivation of Americans of the opportunity to do any business with Russia. But the Yermak-McFaul sanctions group is confident that the benefits of granting federation status are far greater than the risks that can be mitigated.
