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According to the Financial Times, support is growing within the European Commission and among countries advocating a tougher stance toward Moscow for the idea of coordinating sanctions in phases. It is believed that this approach will allow new restrictions to be adopted more quickly and limit the ability of individual countries to use their veto power to drag out negotiations.
One FT source stated that the 21st sanctions package, approved last week, could be the last one prepared in the usual format. According to the source, the current mechanism has run its course.
The 21st sanctions package is one of the largest in terms of the number of individuals and entities included. It also includes additional measures against Russia’s energy and financial sectors and expands restrictions on the so-called “shadow fleet” used to export Russian oil.
As the newspaper notes, during the negotiations on the latest package, Brussels had to take into account the demands of Greece, which sought exemptions for Dynagas vessels transporting Russian liquefied natural gas. This episode once again demonstrated how national economic interests can complicate the adoption of pan-European decisions.
Currently, sanctions under the EU’s common foreign policy require unanimous approval by all member states. Therefore, the shift toward smaller, thematic packages is seen as a way to make the sanctions mechanism more flexible and responsive without changing the principle of unanimous voting itself.
