The situation between the European Union and Russia continues to become tense as new sanctions were adopted on Monday. This latest package of sanctions, the twelfth since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, aims to reduce Russia’s access to revenues, metals and technologies used to support its war effort.
Among the most notable measures of these new sanctions is a ban on the import of Russian diamonds. The ban covers natural and synthetic diamonds, as well as diamond jewelry from January, and Russian diamonds cut in other countries from September next year. The move aims to undermine one of Russia’s main sources of financing, diamond sales, which bring in around $4-5 billion a year.
Belgium, host to a major diamond trading center in Antwerp, initially expressed reservations about the ban, but ultimately accepted the decision after support expressed by the G7. To mitigate the consequences of this measure on the diamond industry, solutions such as a traceability system have been proposed.
In addition to the diamond ban, these new sanctions reinforce the European Union’s efforts to restrict Russia’s access to military technologies. 29 new companies have been added to the list of entities banned from exporting products that could help the Russian military industry. Some of these companies are located outside the European Union and are suspected of circumventing sanctions.
Regarding sanctions already in place on Russian oil exports, the European Union is seeking to strengthen their enforcement. Currently, a price cap of $60 per barrel is imposed on Russian oil. However, Russia managed to circumvent this measure by building a “clandestine fleet” of tankers and benefiting from the support of China and India. The European Union has therefore agreed on a “reinforced information sharing mechanism” to identify ships involved in practices such as ship-to-ship oil transfers at sea.
These new sanctions demonstrate the European Union’s desire to continue to support Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. They aim to weaken the Russian economy and limit its military capabilities. It remains to be seen what the real repercussions of these sanctions will be and whether they will succeed in bringing Moscow to its knees. The situation between the European Union and Russia remains tense and the coming months will be decisive for the future of relations between the two blocs.