Container gantry cranes at the Burchardkai (CTB) terminal of Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA). © Christian Charisius/dpa
The EU states want to take more decisive action against the circumvention of their sanctions against Russia. However, there is still no conclusive answer to the question of how.
Brussels - In the fight against the circumvention of sanctions against Russia, the German government wants companies to be held more accountable. As the German Press Agency learned from EU circles, the German ambassador to the EU made a corresponding proposal on Wednesday during negotiations in Brussels.
According to this, companies from non-EU countries could have to contractually commit themselves to not exporting certain goods to Russia later when buying certain goods in the EU. In addition, importers should also give written assurances that they will only resell these goods to other companies if they also sign a "not for Russia" clause.
According to information from EU circles, such a rule could apply above all to the export of goods that can be used not only for civilian but also for military purposes. These include, for example, night vision devices and drones.
Negotiations on the eleventh package
The background to the German proposal is the current negotiations on an eleventh package of sanctions against Russia. Its main purpose is to combat the circumvention of the punitive measures already adopted. The EU Commission has proposed, among other things, to create the legal possibility of restricting selected exports to certain third countries due to a suspected circumvention of sanctions. For months now, many products from the EU states themselves have not been allowed to be delivered to Russia.
According to diplomats, however, the Commission's proposal is not fully welcomed by all EU states. The danger is that some Member States may not have the courage or the will to put countries like China on such a list because of possible retaliatory measures. In this case, the instrument would only help if it had a deterrent effect by its very existence. This is due to the fact that the approval of all 27 EU states would be required for the listing of each country and each product.
Habeck in favour of tougher action
In addition to China, countries that circumvent sanctions against Russia include, for example, Kazakhstan, Armenia and the United Arab Emirates. Turkey has recently been certified by EU experts to react comparatively decisively to indications of sanctions circumvention.
In February, Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck had already spoken out in favour of a much stricter approach against the circumvention of economic sanctions against Russia. The Green politician said at the time that there were "also clear circumventions from Germany" and emphasized that even an approving acceptance of sanctions violations could not be accepted. Dpa
