The European Union has escalated its sanctions regime against Russia by extending its blacklist to include companies based in mainland China. This unprecedented step underscores the EU’s determination to thwart the Kremlin’s efforts to circumvent sanctions and acquire banned items, marking a significant shift in the bloc’s strategy towards Russia’s ongoing conflict with Ukraine. The package, however, does not cover any person allegedly involved in the death of Alexei Navalny.
The fresh round of sanctions, announced on February 21, 2024, targets a wide array of entities and individuals across the globe, including firms in Turkey and North Korea, accused of supplying Russia with advanced technology and military goods, notably drone components. This expansion brings the total number of names on the EU’s blacklist to over 2,000, reflecting the bloc’s rigorous approach to combating sanction evasion and degrading Russia’s military capabilities.
Notably, the new sanctions package refrains from imposing restrictions on individuals connected to the death of Alexei Navalny, Russia’s most vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin, and sidesteps tighter controls on aluminium, a subject of contention among EU member states.
The details of the sanctions are set to be published in the EU’s official journal later this week, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen emphasizing the importance of continuing to undermine Putin’s war machinery.
The decision to target Chinese companies follows previous hesitations due to diplomatic pushback from Beijing and reservations within the EU. However, the deepening alliance between Russia and China, underscored by a record-breaking $240 billion (€213 billion) in bilateral trade in 2023, compelled the EU to revisit and ultimately implement these measures.
The 13th sanctions package since the onset of the conflict in February 2022 also addresses Russian institutions accused of re-educating kidnapped Ukrainian children, an act deemed a war crime by the International Criminal Court and leading to an arrest warrant against President Putin.
This strategic move by the EU, deliberately timed to coincide with the second anniversary of the Ukraine war, faced delays, notably from Hungary, due to concerns over impacting Rosatom, Russia’s nuclear energy giant involved in expanding Hungary’s Paks nuclear power plant.
The focus on sanctions evasion highlights the EU’s ongoing battle against a phenomenon likened to a game of Whac-A-Mole, where closing one loophole merely leads to the emergence of another. Countries like China, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and several others have been under scrutiny for potentially facilitating Russia’s sanction circumvention efforts.
Despite the challenges and the recognition that some level of circumvention is inevitable, the EU remains committed to tightening the noose around Russia’s economy, even as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects an uptick in Russia’s economic prospects due to military expenditure and robust consumption.
