Diamonds, oil… The EU approved a new package of sanctions against Russia

Brussels is not loosening its control over Moscow. The European Union has approved a new package of sanctions against Russia, which, in particular, includes a ban on the import of Russian diamonds into the EU, Twenty Seven said in a statement on Thursday.

European leaders meeting in Brussels welcomed the adoption of this new package, the 12th since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The EU will also take measures to increase the effectiveness of sanctions against Russian oil.

Moscow is accused of financing part of the war against Ukraine through the lucrative diamond trade, which is worth about four to five billion dollars a year. The EU ban will affect natural or synthetic diamonds and jewelry from January, and Russian diamonds cut in other countries from September 2024.

Import of Russian oil

Belgium has withdrawn its reservations to these sanctions adopted by the G7 countries and has proposed solutions, notably through a traceability system, to make them effective without harming its own industry, which thrives in Antwerp (northwest).

The EU is also seeking to more effectively enforce sanctions targeting Russian oil. Western countries have decided to ban all imports of Russian oil above a set price of $60 per barrel. Russia, however, managed to circumvent this measure by creating a “ghost” tanker fleet, as well as with help from China and India, Carnegie researcher Alexandra Prokopenko recently noted.

Twenty-Seven also decided to extend these oil sanctions to liquefied petroleum gas, liquefied petroleum gas, butane and propane, used in particular for heating.