New Sanctions Agreed, Limited To Fighting Evasion, No Extra Measures

At a Coreper II meeting earlier today, permanent representatives to the EU signed off on the 13th round of sanctions on Russia. Euronews reports this round of sanctions has a "heavy focus on fighting circumvention and go after firms around the world accused of providing Russia with advanced technology and military goods manufactured in the EU, particularly drone components." For the first time, companies in mainland China have been targeted for their alleged complicity in aiding Russia obtain sanctioned goods.

• Euronews: "The bloc had previously attempted to punish a handful of firms based in mainland China, but complaints from Beijing officials and reservations from some member states prevented the move. The ever-closer ties between Russia and China eventually pushed diplomats in Brussels to give the idea a second try."
• Politico notesthat "...the bloc opted to keep this edition fairly simple and avoided pushing for tougher sanctions, such as on metals imports, where agreement would have been elusive."
• This round of sanctions is seen as something of a stop-gap, primarily intended to mark the anniversary of the invasion. The yet-to-be-agreed 14th round is seen as the more likely to contain more significant measures regarding aluminium imports or nuclear monopoly Rosatom.
• Euronews: "A diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity said it had become "quite clear" that the sanctions on Russia were not as effective as the bloc had originally hoped as Russian society was still getting "what they want."