The European Commission will begin consultations with EU member states on the 16th package of sanctions against Russia on Tuesday, 14 January.

Source : the RMF24 Polish radio station with reference to several EU diplomats

Details : As noted, Poland, which currently holds the EU presidency, wants a new package of sanctions to be adopted on the third year of the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, that is, on 24 February 2025.

Nevertheless, the radio station said that preparing a new sanctions package might face a number of difficulties, as EU diplomats believe that a certain "ceiling" has been reached in sanctions decision-making.

In addition, resistance from countries such as Hungary and Slovakia is expected.

As a result, the European Commission is also considering, among other things, restrictions that would have the same effect as sanctions but would not require unanimity in decision-making, such as raising tariffs on certain agricultural products from Russia and Belarus.

Moreover, Poland, along with a group of Scandinavian and Baltic countries, has already submitted its proposals for the 16th package of sanctions.

In particular, the countries demand restrictions on imports of Russian gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The countries also want the sanctions to be extended to the so-called Russian shadow fleet, whose vessels illegally transport Russian oil.

So far, the 15th package of sanctions has imposed sanctions on only 72 vessels out of 600 in the shadow fleet. Another call was made for a ban on cooperation with the Russian nuclear industry.

Background :

• On 16 December, the EU adopted the 15th package of sanctions against Russia. The sanctions aimed at countering sanctions circumvention by targeting Russia's shadow fleet and weakening the Russian defence industrial base.
• On 10 January, the US announced new sanctions that will hit the Russian oil refining industry. In particular, Russian oil giants Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas were hit by the restrictions.
• Following this, the UK government announced sanctions against Russian companies Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas.

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