A new package of sanctions against Russia was supposed to be approved before the summit of EU leaders, but Vienna blocked it.
Austria is delaying the approval of the 12th package of sanctions against Russia, allegedly due to the study of legal aspects. This was reported by Politico on Wednesday, December 13.
A new package of sanctions against Russia must be approved before the summit of EU leaders, which will take place on December 14-15, but Vienna has slowed down the process.
“Austria wants to carry out internal checks before approval,” the media noted, citing its sources.
“We are not against the package. We must study the legal aspect,” said the anonymous Austrian official.
The publication recalled that Hungary and Greece used a similar method when they demanded that Ukraine remove its companies from the list of international war sponsors. Austrian banking group Raiffeisenbank is still on the list.
According to the publication, diplomats hope that such a delay will not delay the approval of the package for a long time.
“We are confident that we will be able to announce the details of the package on Thursday, December 14, during the day,” said the Austrian diplomat.
We remind you that Austrian oil and gas company OMV has signed a five-year gas supply agreement with Norwegian energy group Equinor. Landlocked Austria still gets about 66% of its natural imports from Russia via pipelines to eastern Europe, according to government data, and the country is keen to join new routes of supply.
Meanwhile, the former head of the Austrian Foreign Ministry, Karin Kneissl, settled in the village of Petrushovo in the Ryazan region after leaving Europe.
Source: korrespondent
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