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The European Union will introduce a new mechanism to prevent circumvention of anti-Russian sanctions through third countries. This is written by the American edition of Bloomberg, citing European diplomats. In particular, the measures will be introduced in several stages: first, the violating country will be warned and the channels for circumventing sanctions will be made public, and only then the export of a number of goods will be directly banned, FREEDOM reports.
The new mechanism is the result of unsuccessful attempts by Brussels to convince Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the countries of Central Asia to tighten controls on re-exports to Russia.
“For example, restrictions on Russian transit. The ban on the transfer of trailers from Russian trucks to European trucks looks especially dangerous when the cargo crosses the EU borders.
Import bans could extend to intellectual property and the licenses needed to manufacture them,” Bloomberg writes, citing European diplomats.
However, some EU countries, including Germany, fear that tough measures could harm relations with countries such as Turkey and China. Berlin believes that specific violating companies should first be included in the list. We are talking about targeted restrictions on the export of key goods.
“To implement the restrictions, Brussels has yet to develop a legal framework, draw up a list of products and countries. Then enter them into the export control system, ”the Financial Times says in a publication.
News that Russian companies manage to circumvent sanctions with the help of third countries appears regularly. For example, in the first quarter of 2023, exports from Germany to Russia fell by 47%, while growing sharply in countries neighboring Russia.
According to Reuters, German exports to Kyrgyzstan jumped sharply. For example, the export of cars and spare parts increased by more than half and amounted to about 80 million euros. Germany’s exports to the world market in March 2023 alone amounted to 130 billion euros. Deliveries to Turkey increased by 37%, to Georgia – by 92%, to Kazakhstan – by 136%, to Armenia – by 172%, to Tajikistan – by 154%. Since Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are members of the Eurasian Customs Union, therefore, goods from these countries can enter Russia without further control and customs duties.
“Unfortunately, there are states all over the world and on the European continent that want it or don’t want it, but help circumvent sanctions. To be honest, I’m a little tired in this very struggle. I think that I will start publicly fighting those who make it possible to bypass these sanctions, because they lead to an increase in the production of missiles, ”said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Also, the eleventh package will include sanctions against the “shadow fleet”, in particular, tankers carrying Russian oil. According to Politico, ships involved in transshipment of Russian oil at sea will be banned from entering EU ports. This idea has already been supported by all EU countries. The same sanctions will apply to ships that turn off their transponders and GPS.
“Russia does not have enough ships to transport its oil, so it is forced to use tankers from third countries for transportation. Most of this fleet belongs to Greece, according to an analysis by S&P Global. Some ships turn off their transponders and GPS in order not to be detected, ”writes Politico.
However, there are fewer partners willing to take risks to help Moscow circumvent restrictions under the threat of secondary sanctions, experts from the Expert RA rating agency write. This is also acknowledged in the Russian Foreign Ministry: in May, Deputy Minister Mikhail Galuzin said that some Central Asian countries were even ready to join Western sanctions so as not to impose restrictions on themselves.
Recall that Hungary and Greece are slowing down the adoption of the eleventh package of sanctions by the European Union, since the Ukrainian National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC) included one Hungarian and five Greek companies in the register of war sponsors.
