The European Union announced the 12th package of sanctions against Russia

The EU authorities have approved the 12th package of sanctions against the aggressor country Russia, which will come into force after publication in the Official Journal of the EU. It was reported on the website of the European Council on Monday, December 18.

“In this 12th package, we are proposing a powerful set of new lists and economic measures that will further weaken the Russian military machine. Our message is clear, as I said when I led the informal Foreign Affairs Council in Kiev: we remain firm in our commitment to Ukraine and will continue to support its struggle for independence and sovereignty,” said European diplomacy chief Josep Borrell.

In particular, the European Union has introduced strict restrictions against Russian diamonds.

“The EU is introducing a ban on the direct or indirect import, purchase or transfer of diamonds from Russia. The ban applies to diamonds from Russia, diamonds exported from Russia, diamonds in transit through Russia and Russian diamonds processed in third countries,” the statement said..

An outright ban will apply to non-industrial natural and synthetic diamonds, as well as diamond jewelry, starting January 1, 2024. An indirect ban on diamonds processed in third countries, especially jewelry with diamonds from the Russian Federation, will be introduced in stages from March 1, it will be completed by September 1, 2024.

The ban also applies to jewelry containing Russian diamonds.

In addition, 29 organizations supporting the Russian military-industrial complex in its war against Ukraine were added to the sanctions list. Some of them belong to third countries and are involved in circumventing trade restrictions, or Russian organizations involved in the development, production and supply of electronic components to the Russian military-industrial complex.

The transit ban for dual-use goods and technology exported from the EU to third countries through the territory of Russia has been extended.

EU authorities are introducing stricter rules for introducing restrictions on oil prices. The information sharing mechanism will be strengthened to better identify vessels and entities involved in fraudulent activities such as ship-to-ship transfer of oil.

The Council decided to introduce notification rules for the sale of tankers to any third country to make their sale and export more transparent. We are talking, in particular, about used cars that can be used to avoid the ban on the import of Russian crude oil or petroleum products and price restrictions in the G7.

The sanctions package also adds Switzerland to the list of partner countries that apply a range of restrictive measures to the import of iron and steel from Russia.

In addition to the economic sanctions, the Council decided to include a significant number of additional individuals and entities on the list. But their list will be made public later.