The European Commission on Wednesday proposed the toughest package of sanctions yet against Moscow for its war in Ukraine, Ekathimerini reports.
The new punishments were announced by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and included sanctions on Russia’s top bank and a ban on Russian broadcasters from European airwaves, as well as the embargo on crude oil in six months.
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“Putin must pay a high price for his brutal aggression,” von der Leyen said.
“Let’s be clear: it will not be easy, but we simply have to work on it. We will make sure that we phase out Russian oil in an orderly fashion to maximise pressure on Russia while minimising the impact on our economies.”
There wasn’t unanimous agreement amongst the EU bloc however, with a handful of eastern EU countries such as Hungary and Slovakia concerned that the halt would not allow them enough time to adapt.
Ultimately, is this plan is agreed, the embargo would echo the actions of the United States and Britain, which have already imposed bans to cut one of the largest income streams to the Russian economy.
Source: Ekathimerini.
