EU ambassadors fail to agree on the tenth package of sanctions — Politico

The ambassadors of the European Union failed to agree on the tenth package of sanctions against Russia at the first meeting.

The disagreement arose over the European Commission's proposal to ban the purchase of Russian synthetic rubber. Poland supported this decision, while Italy and Germany were sceptical.

Trade data shows that the synthetic rubber industry brings billions of dollars in revenue annually to Russia. For example, in 2021, Russia exported almost $2 billion of synthetic rubber. 

"Of this amount, the EU imported about $700 million worth of synthetic rubber. Some forms of rubber have already been authorised in previous packages, but this would have cut off additional revenue streams," the publication writes.

Politico also notes that the new package has no restrictions against the UAE-based SUN Ship, to which Russia transferred ownership of 92 of its oil tankers in April 2022 to circumvent sanctions.

"At a meeting of ambassadors on Wednesday, several countries supported the proposal to sanction the company, but no ambassador opposed it — as long as the company does not appear on the list of new sanctions proposed by the Commission on Wednesday. Two diplomats said they were surprised to learn that the EU's diplomatic arm had decided not to include SUN Ship," the newspaper writes.