The European Commission has abandoned plans to impose sanctions on the Russian nuclear sector or its representatives in the next round of sanctions.
As reported by “European truth“, writes about it Politico with reference to the information of three diplomats.
First, the European Commission told the EU countries that it would try to develop sanctions aimed at Russia’s civilian nuclear sector. And ahead of a meeting of EU leaders last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the bloc to at least impose sanctions on the Russian nuclear energy company Rosatom.
But the plan has failed, the three diplomats say, pointing to the latest draft sanctions.
The EU sanctions packages are divided into several parts: new rules aimed at specific sectors such as aviation or the military industry, and lists that impose visa restrictions and asset freezes for individuals and entities – but none of them include the nuclear sector.
“Unfortunately, the nuclear sector is not included in this proposal,” said one diplomat from the pro-sanctions EU country.
Hungary already has long opposed targeting the nuclear sector, pointing to dependence on Rosatom. To overcome a potential veto by Hungary, the EU considered including individual employees of Rosatom and other companies on the list, but ultimately decided not to.
“Hungary will not miss this as their nuclear plant is owned by Rosatom and they say it produces 50 percent of the country’s energy supply. But sanctions against individuals (other than the CEO) should not affect energy security,” said a second senior diplomat. EU.
Some EU diplomats have expressed disappointment with the move. “It’s sad. When it comes to the nuclear sphere … no one told us that it was bad or that it would be a problem. That’s why we are surprised,” the source said.
We will remind, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on February 15 submitted a formal proposal on the tenth package of sanctions against Russia.
The proposal includes further export bans worth more than 11 billion euros to deprive the Russian economy of critical technologies and manufactured goods.
