The Council of Ministers adopted today the 14th package of sanctions against Russia.

The new bundle includes restrictive measures for an additional 116 people and entities responsible for actions that undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, as well as the following sectoral measures:

Energy

In order to ensure that EU facilities are not used to transship Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) to third countries, and thereby reduce the significant revenue that Russia derives from the sale and transport of LNG, the EU will ban transshipment services of Russian LNG on EU territory for transhipment purposes in third countries. This covers both ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore transfers as well as transhipment operations and does not affect imports but only re-exports to third countries via the EU. The European Commission will monitor the implementation and development of of this decision and may propose mitigation measures if necessary.

In addition, the EU will ban new investment, as well as the supply of goods, technology and services to complete LNG projects under construction, such as Arctic LNG 2 and Murmansk LNG. Import restrictions on Russian LNG through EU terminals not connected to the natural gas system are introduced.

Evasion of sanctions

The EU is equipping itself with additional tools to combat circumvention.

First, EU parent companies will be required to make every effort to ensure that their third-country subsidiaries do not engage in activities that will lead to an outcome that the sanctions seek to prevent.

Second, in order to address the re-export of battlefield goods located in Ukraine or critical to the development of Russian military systems, it was decided that EU operators selling such battlefield goods to third countries should implement mechanisms capable of tracing them as and assess the risks of re-export to Russia and their mitigation.

In addition, EU operators transferring industrial know-how for the production of battlefield goods to third-country commercial counterparts will now have to include contractual provisions to ensure that this know-how is not used for goods destined for Russia.

Financing

The Council decided to outlaw the use of the “System for Transfer of Financial Messages” (SPFS), a specialized financial messaging service developed by the Central Bank of Russia to counteract the impact of restrictive measures. EU entities operating outside of Russia will be prohibited from linking to SPFS or similar specialized financial messaging services.

In addition, EU operators will be prohibited from trading with specifically listed entities using SPFS outside of Russia.

In addition, the Council introduces a ban on transactions with targeted credit and financial institutions and crypto-asset providers established outside the EU, when these entities facilitate transactions that support Russia’s defense-industrial base through the export, supply, sale, transfer to Russia of goods and dual-use technology, sensitive items, battlefield goods, firearms and ammunition.

Funding of political parties and other organizations

In view of continued Russian efforts to interfere in democratic processes in the EU and undermine its democratic foundations, including through influence campaigns and the promotion of disinformation, the Council decided that political parties and foundations, non-governmental organizations, including think tanks or media service providers in EU, they will no longer be allowed to accept funding coming from the Russian state and its proxies.

In line with the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the measures agreed today will not prevent media service providers and their staff from carrying out other activities in the EU, such as research and interviews.

Transportation

For the first time, the EU has approved a measure targeting specific ships contributing to Russia’s war against Ukraine, which are subject to a port ban and service ban, the Council says.

Ships can be designated for various reasons, including transporting military equipment for Russia, transporting stolen Ukrainian grain, and supporting the development of Russia’s energy sector, for example by transporting LNG components or LNG transshipments.

In addition, to prevent other forms of circumvention, the Council decided to extend the EU flight ban. The ban on landing, taking off or overflying EU territory will also apply to any aircraft used for non-scheduled flight and when a Russian natural or legal person, entity or body is able to effectively determine the place or time to take off or land to reach, for example, a holiday destination or a business meeting. In addition, air carriers must provide any information requested by Member States’ national competent authorities regarding non-scheduled flights, including the ownership of the aircraft and possibly passengers.

It was also decided to extend the ban on road transport of goods within EU territory, including transit, to cover EU entities that are 25% or more owned by a Russian natural or legal person.

Import-export controls and restrictions

The Council added 61 new entities to the list of those directly supporting Russia’s military and industrial arm in its war of aggression against Ukraine. They will be subject to stricter export restrictions on dual-use goods and technologies, as well as goods and technology that may contribute to the technological improvement of Russia’s defense and security sector. Some of these entities are located in third countries (China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates) and have been involved in circumventing trade restrictions and engaged in the supply of sensitive items used for example in the production of drones, or providing material support for Russian military operations.

Protection of EU operators

The package also includes measures that will allow EU actors to claim compensation for damages caused by Russian companies due to the application of sanctions and expropriation.

Other measures

Today’s package will impose restrictions on the acceptance of applications for EU registrations of certain intellectual property rights by Russian nationals and companies, aimed at countering the actions of the Russian government and courts that illegally deprive EU intellectual property rights holders of their protection in Russia.

Finally, it will be prohibited to purchase, import, transport or export Ukrainian cultural goods and other goods of archaeological, historical, cultural, rare scientific or religious importance, when there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the goods have been illegally removed from Ukraine.