The European Union plans to discuss and approve a new package of sanctions against Russia by mid-October. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Sputnik Kazakhstan.
According to an unnamed source in Izvestia, the draft of the new 22nd sanctions package against Russia is being prepared by the European Commission and has not yet been submitted to the EU Council for consideration. The source said that all procedures are planned to be completed before the Foreign Affairs Council meeting on October 12, but this could happen earlier.
Another European diplomatic source said that the potential new sanctions package is unlikely to include extensive restrictions. This approach is explained by the EU's desire to focus on preventing the circumvention of existing restrictions. According to the source, the package will be aimed at combating sanctions evasion and blacklisting organizations acting as intermediaries in these schemes.
Recall that on July 23, the EU Council approved the 21st sanctions package against Russia. At that time, Financial Times, citing European officials, reported that it could be the last due to difficulties in agreeing on such measures.
The approval of previous EU sanctions packages has repeatedly faced difficulties due to the positions of some countries. They criticized this approach because of the direct negative impact of restrictions against Russia on the economies of European countries.
At the end of July, after the adoption of the 21st package of measures against Russia, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev stated that Western sanctions had not paralyzed the Russian economy, but only created difficulties, and it continues to develop.