EU eyes secondary anti-Russia sanctions - report

Brussels is considering imposing secondary sanctions on Russia’s partners as part of its 19th package of restrictions, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.

The package of anti-Russia sanctions will be discussed at an informal EU Foreign Ministers meeting in Copenhagen on August 29-30.

It was noted that Brussels has historically been averse to imposing secondary sanctions.

"But as the EU prepares the new package of sanctions against Russia - which should be ready in a matter of weeks - it appears to have arrived at the limits of what it can do with sanctions targeting Russia directly," Bloomberg said.

According to the report, these secondary sanctions may prevent third countries from circumventing the existing anti-Russian restrictions and include a ban on the export, supply or transfer of certain goods to third countries suspected in the EU of aiding sanctions circumvention.

However, as the upcoming discussions will be held in an informal format, they won’t be focused on the fresh sanctions package.