European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen proposed yesterday an 8th round of sanctions against Russia. This includs tighter trade restrictions, more individual blacklistings and an oil price cap for third countries.

The proposal also calls for more import restrictions on Russian goods, which are predicted to cost Moscow an additional €7 billion in income, as well as additional export restrictions on important military technology such aviation equipment, electronic parts, and particular chemicals. However, the previously discussed ban on the importing of Russian diamonds is still missing from the new proposed restrictions.

In addition to asset freezes and travel bans against those participating in this week's referendums, the EU executive's proposed measures would also hit senior Russian defence ministry officials. The proposal also includes the possibility of sanctions for those who assist Russia in evading them.

The next step is for all the Member States to unanimously agree on these restrictions. The G7 had already imposed an oil price cap, but other EU member states have been divided over pursuing similar course of action, particularly southern European countries. Moreover, Hungary, has been publicly opposed to economic restrictions against Russia, which will make it difficult to reach unanimity.

The European Commission presented the proposal yesterday, 28 September, and it will likely be evaluated by EU ambassadors at a meeting this Friday, the 29^th, before national EU leaders meet in Prague next week.

Image © European Commission