All posts tagged: Economic sanctions

EU sanctions more Russian banks to squeeze Putin’s war economy – POLITICO

EU sanctions more Russian banks to squeeze Putin’s war economy – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The sanctions also include four banks from Kyrgyzstan, Laos and Azerbaijan, in a bid to crack down on sanction-busting strategies and efforts to pay for Russian oil and gas through the back door. EU businesses are also banned from dealing with Russian companies that handle or exchange cryptocurrencies. The list of sanctioned Russian banks now extends to 70 lenders. The sanctions make it much harder for foreign banks to handle international trade, especially as they will be prohibited from using SWIFT, a financial messaging system used to communicate payment instructions across the world. The EU is also curbing exports of a few high-tech goods to Kyrgyzstan, a Central Asian country with strong economic and political ties to Russia. Metal-working machines and radio equipment may no longer be shipped to Kyrgyzstan after customs data showed clear evidence of circumvention. It is the first time the EU is using the so-called anti-circumvention tool. The Kyrgyz government has vowed it will, in turn, ban some exports to Russia. The two sides will monitor trade in other sensitive goods …

Orbán’s exit leaves Israel exposed in Europe – POLITICO

Orbán’s exit leaves Israel exposed in Europe – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The push to ramp up pressure on Israel is in focus this week as the EU’s chief diplomat Kaja Kallas presides over a meeting of the Global Alliance for a Two-State Solution as well as at a gathering of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg. Ministers are expected to raise the subject of West Bank sanctions and the Association Agreement — although one EU diplomat from a mid-sized EU country and the EU official quoted above said that countries might avoid moving ahead in deference to peace talks between Israel and Lebanon. Tensions ramp up The push to revisit sanctions comes as EU leaders intensify their criticism of Israel over its actions in Lebanon and over a controversial law, backed by Netanyahu, that authorizes the death penalty for terrorists from the Palestinian territories. Kallas blasted the bill — which comes ahead of Israeli elections due later this year — as a “grave regression,” in a statement issued on behalf of the bloc on March 31. Germany, France and the United Kingdom also warned that the law …

IMF approves B loan to Ukraine despite EU clash with Hungary – POLITICO

IMF approves $8B loan to Ukraine despite EU clash with Hungary – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The international lender had initially demanded more assurances over Kyiv’s financial stability before approving the loan — this came when a majority of EU countries agreed late last year to raise €90 billion in joint debt to shore up Ukraine against Russia. “An important milestone,” the IMF’s mission chief to Ukraine, Gavin Gray, told reporters on Friday. But the IMF’s cash cushion is tiny. Kyiv’s budget shortfall is set to widen beyond $50 billion this year, putting pressure on the EU to overcome a dispute with Hungary that’s blocking crucial financial support. The EU’s planned €90 billion loan to Ukraine would help plug the gap. But Hungary is blocking the financing package amid accusations that Ukraine is deliberately slow-walking repairs to the damaged 4,000-kilometer Druzhba pipeline, which carries vital supplies of Russian oil to Hungary, on political grounds. Ukraine has dismissed the accusations. The European Commission has also downplayed the risk of an immediate energy crunch in Hungary, which has 90 days’ worth of oil supplies it can use. In the meantime, Brussels’ top brass …

Kyiv condemns ‘blackmail’ by Hungary, Slovakia as energy standoff escalates – POLITICO

Kyiv condemns ‘blackmail’ by Hungary, Slovakia as energy standoff escalates – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

In a statement posted on X late Saturday, Ukraine’s foreign ministry blasted the actions as “irresponsible,” saying they risked exacerbating the growing energy crisis that has followed months of Russian airstrikes against Ukrainian grids and power stations, leaving thousands of Ukrainians without heat and electricity in the depths of winter. “Such actions, in the context of massive and targeted Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and Moscow’s attempts to deprive Ukrainians of electricity, heating, and gas during extreme cold weather, are provocative, irresponsible, and threaten the energy security of the entire region,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. “In doing so, the governments of Hungary and Slovakia are not only playing into the hands of the aggressor, but also harming their own energy companies that supply energy on a commercial basis.” Kyiv said it is also considering activating emergency energy supply measures under Ukraine’s association agreement with the EU. The European Commission has called an emergency meeting of the Oil Coordination Group for Wednesday to address a growing dispute over the Druzhba oil pipeline. …

EU’s €90B plan to fund Ukraine in jeopardy as Hungary blocks deal – POLITICO

EU’s €90B plan to fund Ukraine in jeopardy as Hungary blocks deal – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Hungary’s threat to veto the loan is a major setback for Ukraine, whose coffers will begin running low on cash from April. Kyiv will struggle to sustain its war effort without fresh funds, leaving it at a disadvantage in ongoing peace talks with Russia. The first signs of trouble began earlier in the day on Friday. Hungary’s ambassador to the EU demanded that its national assembly get the standard eight weeks to scrutinize EU legislation during a meeting of envoys in Brussels, three EU diplomats told POLITICO. EU ambassadors were set to give their final approval for the loan ahead of Tuesday, which marks the four-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In a fresh confrontation with Kyiv, Orbán is accusing the war-torn country of halting Russian gas to Hungary for political reasons. Ukraine rejects these claims, arguing that Russian strikes have damaged the energy infrastructure. The European Commission convened an emergency meeting earlier this week to solve the dispute over the Druzhba pipeline after Hungary and Slovakia retaliated by halting diesel supplies to Ukraine. EU leaders, including Orbán, agreed to the €90 …

EU targets Russian energy, banks, goods and services in latest sanctions package – POLITICO

EU targets Russian energy, banks, goods and services in latest sanctions package – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

It also introduces new import bans on metals, chemicals and critical minerals, as well as further export restrictions on items and technologies used for Russia’s battlefield effort, such as materials used to produce explosives. The package lists 20 more Russian regional banks as well as several banks in third countries that are perceived as facilitating trade in sanctioned goods. Von der Leyen said a drop of 24 percent in Russian oil and gas revenues last year, to the lowest since 2020, confirmed that sanctions were working. “We will continue to use them until Russia engages in serious negotiations with Ukraine for a just and lasting peace,” she asserted. EU countries would need to approve the package for the measures to take effect, with the goal getting a deal over the line in time for the four-year mark of Vladimir Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine on Feb. 24. The proposal comes on the heels of a round of trilateral talks between Ukrainian, American and Russian negotiators this week in Abu Dhabi, where Ukraine and Russia agreed …

EU agrees €90B lifeline for cash-strapped Ukraine – POLITICO

EU agrees €90B lifeline for cash-strapped Ukraine – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

If the U.K. or other third countries like South Korea, which have signed security deals with the EU and have helped Ukraine, want to take part in procurement deals beyond that, they will have to contribute financially to help cover interest payments on the loan. The European Parliament must now examine the changes the Council has made to the legal text. | Philipp von Ditfurth/picture alliance via Getty Images The text also mentions that the contribution of non-EU countries — to be agreed in upcoming negotiations with the European Commission — should be proportional to how much their defense firms could gain from taking part in the scheme. Canada, which already has a deal to take part in the EU’s separate €150 billion SAFE loans-for-weapons scheme, will not have to pay extra to take part in the Ukraine program, but would have detail the products that could be procured by Kyiv. Next steps Now that ambassadors have reached a deal, the European Parliament must examine the changes the Council has made to the legal text …

Document reveals EU-US pitch for 0B postwar Ukraine ‘prosperity’ plan – POLITICO

Document reveals EU-US pitch for $800B postwar Ukraine ‘prosperity’ plan – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The funding strategy stretches until 2040 alongside an immediate 100-day operational plan to get the project off the ground. But the prosperity plan will struggle to attract outside investment if the conflict rumbles on, according to the world’s largest money manager, BlackRock, which is advising on the reconstruction plan in a pro-bono capacity. “Think about it. If you’re a pension fund, you’re fiduciary towards your clients, your pensioners. It’s nearly impossible to invest into a war zone,” BlackRock’s vice chairman, Philipp Hildebrand, said Wednesday in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “I think it has to be sequenced and that’s going to take some time.” The prosperity plan is part of a 20-point peace blueprint that the U.S. is attempting to broker between Kyiv and Moscow. It explicitly assumes that security guarantees are already in place and is not intended as a military roadmap. Instead, it focuses on how Ukraine can transition from emergency assistance to self-sustaining prosperity. A three-way meeting between Ukraine, Russia and the U.S. will take place in Abu Dhabi …

Meloni joins Macron in urging European talks with Russia – POLITICO

Meloni joins Macron in urging European talks with Russia – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Meloni warned that Europe needs a coordinated approach or “risks doing Putin a favor.” Since the beginning of negotiations over a potential ceasefire in Ukraine, “many voices have been speaking out, and that’s why I’ve always been in favor of appointing a European special envoy on the Ukrainian issue,” Meloni said. Peace talks aimed at ending the all-out conflict, which Russia launched in February 2022, have accelerated with U.S. President Donald Trump back in the White House, but Moscow has not indicated that it is willing to make concessions. The U.S. in November proposed that Russia be readmitted to the Group of Seven leading nations. But Meloni said it was “absolutely premature” to talk about welcoming Russia back to the G7 fold. Meloni also emphasized that Italy would not join France and the U.K. in sending troops to Ukraine to guarantee a potential peace deal, because it was “not necessary” if Ukraine signed a collective defense agreement with Western allies modeled on NATO’s Article 5 collective-defense provision. She suggested that a small contingent of foreign troops …