In the AWB News of 26 February 2025, we informed you about the 16th sanctions package published by the EU against Russia.
While the 15th sanctions package focussed on people-related measures, the 16th sanctions package again provides for an expansion of goods-related restrictions as well as various other measures in different sectors of foreign trade with Russia, Belarus, Crimea and Sevastopol as well as the areas of the Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhya regions not controlled by the Ukrainian government.
The new sanctions package includes the listing of 83 additional individuals, entities and bodies held responsible for actions that undermine the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. Their assets have been frozen and individuals have been banned from travelling.
In addition, 53 other companies from Russia, China or Hong Kong, India, Kazakhstan, Singapore, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan have been added to the list of entities supporting the Russian military and industrial complex. Stricter export restrictions now apply to these companies.
Measures against the ‘Russian shadow fleet’
In order to prevent circumvention of the oil price cap, a further 74 ships from the so-called Russian shadow fleet have been sanctioned. These ships now no longer have access to EU ports and services.
Trade restrictions
The sanctions package includes new export bans on certain chemical precursors, software for CNC machines, certain chrome compounds and controls for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). In addition, further chemicals, plastics and rubber have been added to the list of banned goods. A new import ban concerns primary aluminium from Russia.
Further measures
The provision of construction services, including building and civil engineering works, is prohibited for economic operators from the EU. In the financial sector, 13 Russian financial institutions were excluded from the SWIFT system.
In the transport sector, the flight ban was extended to listed air carriers operating domestic flights within Russia or selling, supplying, transporting or exporting aircraft or other aviation equipment and technology directly or indirectly to a Russian air carrier or for flights within Russia, as well as to organisations owned or controlled by such an air carrier. In addition, the 16th sanctions package introduced an amendment to the road transport ban to prevent Russian ownership of road transport companies in the EU from exceeding 25%.
Links:
Pressemitteilung der Europäischen Kommission
Verordnung (EU) 2025/398 des Rates vom 24. Februar 2025 zur Änderung der Verordnung (EU) 2022/263
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