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The European Union announced new sanctions on Russia early Friday that would target the country’s financial, energy and transport sectors, visa policy, and include export controls and export financing bans.
The sanctions will have “maximum impact on the Russian economy and political elite,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at a joint news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron. “We will hold the Kremlin accountable,” she said.
She said the financial sanctions cut Russia’s most important capital markets, and that they are now targeting 70% of the Russian banking market and key state-owned companies. The sanctions will increase Russia’s borrowing costs, raise inflation and “gradually erode Russia’s industrial base,” she said.
“We are also targeting Russian elites by curbing their deposits so that they cannot hide their money anymore in safe havens in Europe,” she added.
An export ban will also hit Russia’s oil sector, and ban the sale of all aircraft spare parts and equipment to Russian airlines, which Von der Leyen said would hit a key sector of Russia’s economy and the country’s connectivity. The sanctions also limit Russia’s access to “crucial technology,” she said.
Diplomats, related groups and businesspeople will no longer have privileged access to the EU, she added.
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