The head of the EU sanctions committee, David O’Sullivan, noted the “complete breakdown of transatlantic coordination regarding sanctions evasion.” According to him, Europe and the US are no longer acting together on the issue of imposing economic sanctions against Russia, as evidenced by an internal document from the German Foreign Ministry cited by the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
This is reported by Finway
The European Union is preparing its eighteenth package of sanctions against Russia; however, experts believe that the hopes of Europeans for joint action with the Americans may not be fulfilled. According to the report, negotiations with the US on coordinating efforts to combat Moscow’s sanctions evasion have failed. This became known after the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting held in Brussels on May 20.
“There are no longer any ‘joint contacts.’ Cooperation among the ‘G7’ countries has also ‘lost momentum,'” O’Sullivan noted.
According to the document, Europeans and Americans intend to agree on new sanctions, but this issue remains open, especially in light of the potential resumption of cooperation between Donald Trump and Russia.
The Impact of Sanctions on the Russian Economy
Despite the problems in coordinating sanctions, O’Sullivan and the director of the EU Intelligence Coordination Office, Daniel Markić, confirmed that the restrictions have had a significant impact on the Russian economy. The EU has also achieved some success in exporting military goods through third countries such as Armenia, Serbia, Uzbekistan, and India.
However, despite these successes, supplies through Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey remain problematic, while China and Hong Kong are actively used for sanctions evasion. O’Sullivan expressed concern at the meeting in Brussels that China accounts for “about 80 percent of cases of rule circumvention,” which, he said, continues to deny.
New Sanctions from the EU and US
Recently, the European Union implemented a new, 17th package of sanctions against Russia. In addition, according to Bloomberg, Europe plans to impose new restrictions, including the possibility of disconnecting more than 20 banks from the SWIFT system and banning the “Nord Stream” gas pipeline.
Furthermore, the WSJ reports that US President Donald Trump is considering the possibility of introducing new sanctions against Russia in the near future. It is expected that the new restrictions will not include banking sanctions but may involve other ways to pressure Putin to make concessions, including the possibility of a 30-day ceasefire.