Speaking ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Kallas said work continues on the new sanctions package, which would include an entry ban for individuals who have fought against Ukraine. "I hope that today we will be able to approve 250 new entries on the sanctions list. We will also continue working on the 21st package, on which we have not yet reached unanimity", she said.
EU capitals remain divided over the package, and a Sunday meeting on the matter failed to produce a breakthrough, with time running short: the new restrictions are meant to prevent an easing of energy sanctions on Russia that could otherwise take effect as early as Wednesday.
Kallas said the newly listed individuals are involved in various ways in the war against Ukraine. Blacklisting bars them from entering the EU and freezes their assets, while listed entities are barred from conducting any economic activity within the bloc. The new sanctions specifically target detention facilities holding both prisoners of war and Ukrainian civilians.
Monday's foreign ministers' meeting opened with a discussion of Ukrainian civilians held by Russia, with Ukrainian human rights defenders Oleksandra Matviichuk and Maksym Butkevych invited to attend. According to a report by the International Partnership for Human Rights, Russia has carried out arbitrary detentions of Ukrainian civilians in occupied territories since its full-scale invasion in 2022, holding them in prolonged isolation without access to lawyers or contact with relatives.
The stalled 21st sanctions package would also delay a scheduled adjustment to the price cap on Russian seaborne oil. The EU's cap is set at 15% below the average market price over the preceding six months, limiting Moscow's revenue from oil sales. But the mechanism was not designed to handle market shocks such as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has driven global oil prices higher. When unveiling the new sanctions package in June, the European Commission proposed freezing the price-cap update until January.
Without agreement among member states, the cap could jump from its current USD 44 a barrel to USD 58 on Wednesday. Greece, Cyprus and Malta have objected to freezing the update, citing their shipping companies that continue to transport Russian oil.
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Source: PAP