Second package of EU sanctions officially concluded, including those against Putin and Lavrov | War Ukraine and Russia

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The news that Putin and Lavrov would be targeted was already known, but has now been officially confirmed. Their assets in Europe are being secured, but an entry ban against the two is not being issued for the time being.

The decision was taken by the EU’s foreign ministers. During an extra council of ministers in Brussels, they cast the second sanction package for which the heads of state and government gave the green light on Thursday in concrete measures.

German minister Annalena Baerbock said before the meeting that Putin and Lavrov are responsible for “the international legal system being trampled – and we as Europeans will not tolerate that”. The set of political and economic sanctions should isolate the regime in Moscow, she said.

After the cabinet meeting, High Representative for European Foreign Policy Josep Borrell said that in addition to Putin and Lavrov, the other members of the State Duma – the parliament in Moscow – and the Russian Security Council have been added to the list. The same fate befalls 26 people who bear no political responsibility, but have ties to the Russian financial world and seek to take financial advantage of the conflict. “Call them oligarchs, if you like,” Borrell said. Their names will be known when they appear in the official EU Official Journal later Friday evening.

It remains to be seen how hard the freeze on their assets will hit Putin and Lavrov. Not much is known about their wealth, but Borrell seemed confident that the sanction will affect them. The Spaniard made it clear that Putin, Bashar al-Assad from Syria and Aleksander Lukashenko from Belarus are the only three heads of state in the world to be sanctioned by the EU.

Other sanctions that the foreign ministers had to elaborate concern the financial sector, the energy and transport sectors, dual-use goods, export controls, export financing and visa policy. The luxury goods and diamond sectors are not included in the package.

A European source says the primary purpose of the financial sanctions is to make it impossible for the Russian government and central bank to refinance in the capital markets. According to Borrell, 70% of Russia’s financial sector will be affected. “As a result, interest charges for Russia are rising, inflation is rising, industry is diluting and investment is falling.”

Borrell admitted Swift was also on the table on Friday. Several countries want to cut off Russia from the international payment operator, but not all 27 member states agreed. Borrell did not rule out that the file will be discussed again when (if?) a third sanction package is prepared. At the Eurogroup, the finance ministers have already asked the European Commission and the ECB to evaluate the consequences of a further closure of the Russian institutions from the financial system.

In the meantime, the European Union continues on its chosen path. The United Nations Security Council is expected to vote down a resolution on Russia next night – by a veto from Moscow – bringing the text to the General Assembly. “We’ll be able to measure the temperature there,” said Borrell, who hopes to find out how other countries really feel about the Russian invasion. He already called China and India to prepare the file.

On Sunday, European interior ministers will meet to discuss the consequences of the conflict in Ukraine at the EU borders. If the situation on the ground worsens, four million Ukrainians are at risk of having to flee their country, the UN has already calculated.