The Russia sanctions position continues to be subject to rapid change. Our latest update summarises the newly announced sixth package of EU sanctions in response to the ongoing conflict with further updates to follow once more details on these measures are published.

On 4 May the President of the European Commission announced proposals for a sixth package of EU sanctions against Russia. The measures are not yet in force and will be subject to approval by Member States but, as explained by President von der Leyen, contain the following key proposals:

  • The addition of further individuals to the EU's asset freeze list. These designations will comprise "high ranking military officers and other individuals who committed war crimes in Bucha and who are responsible for the inhuman siege of the city of Mariupol".
  • The "de-Swifting" of Sberbank and "two other major banks" (not yet named). The EU's existing measures relating to SWIFT are summarised in our previous blogpost.
  • Restrictions on three (as yet unnamed) Russian state-owned broadcasters, who will be prohibited from distributing their content in the EU.
  • A ban on the provision of services to Russian companies by "accountants, consultants and spin-doctors". It is not yet clear how this prohibition will be defined or precisely which service providers or services will be in scope.
  • An import ban on Russian oil, with the supply of crude oil to be phased out within six months, and refined products by the end of 2022.

We will issue a further update once legislation relating to these proposals has been published.

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