European policies being considered - The German government impedes EU-imposed penalties against Russia.
The German administration hinders the advancement of negotiations on the subsequent round of Russia sanctions drafted by the EU, per reports from the German Press Agency. Diplomats based in Brussels note that Germany's concerns and requests are the main obstacles preventing the sanctions from being finalized.
A European official recently observed that Germany is behaving more like Hungary, a reference to the fact that the Budapest government, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, had repeatedly stalled decisions concerning Russia sanctions in the past.
These proposed new EU sanctions aim to target the bypassing of existing limitations. For instance, this would prevent Russia's arms industry from continuing to utilize Western technology to manufacture weapons for the conflict in Ukraine.
The European Commission is also planning to impose stringent sanctions on Russia's billion-dollar gas industries for the first time. As per diplomats, the European Commission intends to prohibit ports such as the one in Zeebrugge, Belgium to be used for the transport of Russian LNG to third countries. If implemented, this measure could lead to a decrease in Russian LNG imports and potential financial strain for their military offensive.
German objections centre around measures designed to complicate the circumvention of EU sanctions, claim EU diplomats. The German government, for instance, is seeking to limit or completely eradicate a proposed ruling on the liability of subsidiaries of corporations for breaching certain goods regulations. Concerns may stem from the potential risk of German companies being held accountable for sanctions breaches.
The German administration is also considering certain reporting obligations redundant and intends to weaken a measure intended to further restrict the usage of the Russian SPFS system for the exchange of electronic messages related to financial transactions.
