EU adopts 16th sanctions package against Russia

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

The Commission welcomes the Council’s adoption of the 16^th Russia sanctions package. As Russia’s illegal aggression enters its fourth year, this package is designed to further ramp up pressure on the aggressor and is part of the EU’s unwavering commitment to a just and lasting peace for Ukraine.

The 16^th package targets systemically important sectors of the Russian economy such as energy, trade, transport, infrastructure, and financial services. It also adds further measures aimed at tackling circumvention. To curb the risk of our sanctions being bypassed, certain provisions of the 16^th package are now also mirrored in the Belarus sanctions regime. The EU has in addition updated and strengthened its sanctions regimes concerning Crimea and Sevastopol, and the non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.

The 16^th package contains the following key elements:

ANTI-CIRCUMVENTION MEASURES

• Today’s package targets 74 additional vessels, bringing the total number of listed vessels to 153. These vessels are part of the shadow fleet or contributed to Russia’s energy revenues.
• The measures add a new listing criterion, targeting those who support the operations of unsafe oil tankers.
• The package imposes targeted export restrictions on 53 new companies supporting Russia’s military-industrial complex or engaged in sanctions circumvention. This includes 34 companies in countries other than Russia.

ADDITIONAL LISTINGS

• Today’s package includes 83 additional listings, including 48 individuals and 35 entities, such as those supporting the Russian military complex, active in sanctions circumvention, Russian crypto assets exchanges and in the maritime sector.
• The 16th package also adds another new criterion for listing individuals and entities that are part of Russia’s military and industrial complex, support it, or benefit from it.

TRADE MEASURES

Direct import ban on Russian aluminium:

• In addition to the prohibition for imports of processed aluminum goods from Russia, already in place, this package includes a ban on EU imports of primary aluminium from Russia.
• To ensure a smooth transition for businesses, a quota mechanism is introduced, allowing 275,000 tons, which equates to 80% of EU imports in 2024, to be used over a 12-month period.

Dual-use export restrictions have been extended to additional items in order to cut Russia’s access to key technologies it has been using on the battlefield, covering:

• Dual-use chemical precursors to produce chloropicrin and other riot control agents used as chemical weapons by Russia in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention.  
• Software related to Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine tools used to manufacture weapons, and video-game controllers used by the Russian army to pilot drones on the battlefield.  
• Chromium ores and compounds due to their military applications. 

The limited derogations and exemptions for certain dual-use and advanced tech exports, e.g. for medical use, have been clarified and further tightened to support effective application by customs and licensing agencies.  

Moreover, additional export restrictions have been introduced on industrial goods, specifically targeting minerals, chemicals, steel, glass materials, and fireworks, with special military significance.

ENERGY MEASURES

• The EU has decided to completely prohibit temporary storage or the placement under free zone procedures of Russian crude oil or petroleum products in EU ports, which was until now allowed, if the oil complied with the price cap and went to a third country.  
• The package extends the prohibition to provide goods, technology and services for the completion of Russian LNG projects to also apply to crude oil projects in Russia, such as the Vostok oil project.  
• The package extends the existing software ban to restrict the export, supply or provision of oil and gas exploration software to Russia.

TRANSPORT MEASURES

• The package extends the flight ban to enable the listing of third-country carriers conducting domestic flights within Russia or supplying aviation goods to Russian airlines or for domestic flight in Russia. If listed, these airlines will not be allowed to fly to the EU. 
• Road transport prohibition: The package adds an amendment that prevents increasing Russian ownership above 25% in EU road transport undertakings, thereby closing potential loopholes for circumventing existing sanctions.  

INFRASTRUCTURE MEASURES

• Full transaction ban on specific Russian infrastructures: This includes two Moscow airports (Vnukovo Airport and Zhukovsky Airport), four regional airports, and the Volga port Astrakhan and Makhachkala port on the Caspian Sea. The sea ports Ust-Luga and Primorsk on the Baltic Sea and Novorossiysk on the Black Sea were also included.
• Ban on construction services provided by EU operators in Russia.

FINANCIAL SECTOR MEASURES

Russia has diverted much of its financial flows via smaller banks. The 16th package strengthens our measures on the financial sector. In particular:

• Addition of 13 financial institutions to the list of entities subject to the prohibition to provide specialised financial messaging services.
• Addition of 3 banks to the transaction ban due to their use of the Financial Messaging System of the Central Bank of Russia (SPFS) system to circumvent EU sanctions.
• Extension of the transaction ban to enable the EU to list financial institutions and crypto asset providers that participate in the circumvention of the Oil Price Cap and facilitate transactions with listed vessels of the shadow fleet.

MEASURES AGAINST DISINFORMATION

• Suspension of broadcasting activities of additional 8 media outlets in the EU or directed at the EU, in view of their role supporting and justifying Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.

Background

EU sanctions remain at the core of the EU’s response to Russia’s unjustified military aggression against Ukraine, as they degrade Russia’s military and technological capability, deprive the Kremlin from the revenues it uses to finance the war, and impose ever higher costs on Russia’s economy. In this respect, sanctions contribute to fulfilling the EU’s key objective, to continue to work for a just and lasting peace. Their effects grow over time as the sanctions erode Russia’s industrial and technological base. As guardian of the EU Treaties, the European Commission ensures the uniform implementation of EU sanctions by EU Member States and monitors their enforcement.

Russia is actively attempting to circumvent sanctions. This is clear evidence that our measures are having an impact. This also calls for us to redouble our efforts in tackling circumvention and to ask certain third countries for closer cooperation. EU Sanctions Envoy David O’Sullivan continues his outreach to third countries to combat circumvention. Working with like-minded partners, we have also agreed a list of Common High Priority sanctioned goods to which businesses should apply particular due diligence, and which third countries should not re-export to Russia. In addition, within the EU, we have also drawn up a list of sanctioned goods that are economically critical and toward which businesses and third countries should be especially vigilant.