The European Union has closed a “window” which allowed the governments of the Union to export weapons worth tens of millions of euros in Russia only last year despite the embargo imposed since 2014 after the annexation of Crimea by Russia.
The countries of the European Union did last year arms sales to Russia amounting to 39 million eurosaccording to the latest data available to the European Commission – an increase of more than 50% compared to 2020, when sales amounted to 25 million euros, ie at the level of previous years.
The European Union has banned arms exports to Moscow since July 2014 in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea. but a penalty clause allowed contract sales signed before August 2014.
Countries with large defense industries, such as France and Germany, are among the European exporters.
The existence of this “window” has come under fire from some European Union governments since the start of the Russian offensive against Ukraine on 24 February.
Aiming to weaken the Kremlin’s military capability, the European Union has imposed five sanctions packages against Moscow banning exports to Russia of a wide range of technological products that could be used by the Russian defense industry.
But EU governments did not agree until last week to the abolition of the clause which introduced exceptions to European arms exports to Russia. The “window” was then closed as part of the fifth package of European sanctions, European diplomats and officials told Reuters.
A legal text published on 8 April in the Official Journal of the EU has definitively abolished the exemption clause.
The Commission did not mention the abolition of this clause in its official announcement on the fifth package of sanctions against Russia.
A representative of the Lithuanian diplomatic mission to the European Union clarified that the clause had been abolished, but EU countries will be able to continue to send Russian-made weapons to Russia for repair before they return to the European Union.
The Commission, which is responsible for drafting and preparing sanctions, did not propose amending or removing the exemption clause because it was unclear whether there was unanimous political support from the 27 member states, according to diplomatic sources.
But during a meeting last week, EU ambassadors agreed to amend the text, following new criticism from some European governments, including Poland and Lithuania, diplomats who attended the meeting said.
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