The European Union now has plans to ban Russian coal, ships, and road operators after the brutal events of the Bucha massacre in Ukraine after an extended period of avoiding imposing sanctions on Moscow's energy exports.
The proposal was made by the European Commission and is part of a new package of sanctions on Russia's war on Ukraine. The commission's president, Ursula von der Leyen, said that the latest sanctions were designed to ban Russian coal imports, impose sanctions on four Russian banks, and ban Russian vessels from European Union ports.
EU Ban on Russian Coal
In a statement, von der Leyen said that Moscow's atrocities in Ukraine cannot and will not be left unanswered. She noted that it was of utmost importance to sustain pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin and his government during this critical point in time.
In a tweet on Tuesday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged other nations to stop buying oil, gas, and coal from Russia to prevent "new Buchas." The official called on other leaders to stop financing what he called Putin's "war machine," as per the Washington Post.
The proposal is a phased ban of $4.3 billion worth of Russian coal imports per year with other proposals targeting Moscow's technology and manufacturing imports which total another $10.9 billion. Since the beginning of Russia's war on Ukraine on Feb. 24, Europe has imposed sanctions on Moscow's economy but avoided targeting the energy sector.
More details and information regarding the new sanctions package are expected to come on Wednesday when EU ambassadors meet for talks. Furthermore, the measures would still need to be approved by all 27 member states.
According to CNN, while imposing bans on Russia's coal exports will negatively affect some European countries, it is considered to be the easiest energy source to wean off. This is because Russia is the world's third-largest exporter of coal in 2020, just behind Australia and Indonesia and Europe is its biggest customer.
Effects of Sanctions
The situation comes as the United States federal government is also planning to impose new sanctions on Russia. UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss also urged for a "tough new wave" of sanctions from G7 and NATO ministers to combat Moscow's continued aggression and alleged war crimes.
Truss said that her Japanese counterpart has already agreed that the international community needed to increase pressure on Putin with coordinated sanctions. EU officials previously indicated that the new measures would focus on enforcing existing sanctions.
On Tuesday, French European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune said that the new sanctions will probably be adopted by Wednesday. The sanctions would include banning Russian companies from taking part in competing for contracts across the EU.
Previous sanctions focused on targeting Putin and hundreds of Russian MPs and companies in the financial and energy sectors. By the end of this year, the 27-member states plan to cut the use of Russian gas by two-thirds and make Europe entirely independent of Russian fossil fuels by 2030 to prevent severe consequences of such a move, BBC reported.
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