EU urgently prepares more sanctions against Moscow

The European Union aims according to EU Council President Charles Michel's data to impose additional sanctions against Moscow. On Friday Michel stated at Twitter service that “The EU is urgently preparing another package of sanctions”. On Thursday, the EU imposed a series of strong sanctions against Russia due to its attack on Ukraine.

According to the EU, sanctions imposed on Thursday affect the energy, financial and transport sector, exports used for civilian and military purposes. The sanctions also affect visa giving for a series of specific “persons from Russia. The U.S., Great Britain, Canada, and Japan also reacted with severe sanctions against Russia. But the EU has not decided Russia's secession from the SWIFT system. In the EU, Germany is part of those countries that for strategic reasons still hold it as a pressure card. Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he should be kept for a situation where there will be a need to do other things. At yesterday's summit, EU heads of state and government decided at a special summit expanded sanctions against Russia, affecting the financial sector, energy and technology.

Russia reacted on Friday, countering, that it would also impose sanctions against the West. From the Economy Ministry in Moscow, the announcement came that Russia will be increasingly oriented towards Asian markets due to sanctions. / DW