The European Commission on Friday proposed another round of sanctions on Russia, aiming to pressure Moscow in the war in Ukraine by tightening restrictions tied to Russian energy shipments and the country’s ability to finance its economy, according to the proposal described by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Von der Leyen said the EU’s approach should remain “clear-eyed” as negotiations to end the war continue, saying Russia would engage only if it is pressured “to do so.” In that framing, she argued that the sanctions package should go beyond recent steps by focusing on parts of Russia’s trade and economic infrastructure that enable the Kremlin to sustain its war effort.
At the center of the proposal is a new ban on shipping services that help Russia’s oil industry, a move that would need the endorsement of EU member states. Von der Leyen said the ban would “slash further Russia’s energy revenues” and make it more difficult to locate buyers for Russian oil, describing oil revenue as a key input to the Russian economy that allows President Vladimir Putin to fund the armed forces.
She also said the EU should impose the shipping services ban in coordination with the Group of Seven major powers and other international partners. In addition, she called for targeting “dozens more ships” in what she described as Russia’s shadow fleet that transports oil.
Beyond shipping, the Commission also proposed measures aimed at limiting Russia’s banking system and its ability to create alternative payment channels. Von der Leyen said, “This is Russia’s weak point,” and said the EU is “pressing hard” on restricting it, alongside other steps described as new bans on goods and services.
The Commission’s other proposed measures would include new bans on specific goods and services, including rubber, tractors and cybersecurity services, according to the proposal as described by von der Leyen. The package would also include an import ban on metals, chemicals and critical minerals that are not already under sanctions.
EU diplomats from the bloc’s 27 member states will begin discussing the proposals on Monday, the Commission said through von der Leyen’s remarks. The bloc has already imposed 19 packages of sanctions on Russia over its attacks on Ukraine, but final agreement on targets can take weeks, with the Commission aiming for member countries to endorse the new measures by Feb. 23, on the eve of the war’s fourth anniversary.
The proposal thus sets up a new test of the EU’s internal approval process, with member states weighing the scope of restrictions across shipping services, financial channels and trade—components the Commission says are closely tied to Russia’s war-making capacity.