The EU ambassadors agreed that to punish Russia for the war in Ukraine. About 1,300 ships arrive in Rotterdam every year from Russia and nearly 1,100 depart for that country.
Member States will also no longer be allowed to import Russian coal from mid-August and, according to insiders, the daughters of President Vladimir Putin will be added to the European sanctions list.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said earlier this week that the EU imports €4 billion a year worth of coal from Russia. A large part of the coal consumed in the Netherlands also comes from that country. In addition, the import of vodka and wood from Russia is banned.
These and more sanctions will become public and effective as soon as they are published in the official EU Official Journal. That is seen as a formality and will probably happen on Friday. It is the EU’s fifth sanctions package since the end of February.
There has been no import ban on gas. The European Union depends on Russia for about 40% of its natural gas and an import ban would hit a number of member states hard.