EUROPEAN UNION LEADER CALLS FOR RUSSIAN OIL BAN IN NEW SET OF SANCTIONS

Wed 04 May 2022:

In the sixth package of sanctions hitting Russia for its war in Ukraine, the European Union’s leader called on the 27-nation union to block oil imports from Russia.

Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, and two other significant banks would be cut off from the SWIFT international banking payment system, according to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

In a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, Von der Leyen urged EU member states to phase out crude oil imports within six months and refined products by the end of the year.

“We will make sure that we phase out Russian oil in an orderly fashion, in a way that allows us and our partners to secure alternative supply routes and minimizes the impact on global markets,” von der Leyen said.

The proposals need to be unanimously approved to take effect and are likely to be the subject of fierce debate. Von der Leyen conceded that getting all 27 member countries — some of them landlocked and highly dependent on Russia for energy supplies — to agree on oil sanctions “will not be easy.”

EU TO BAN THREE RUSSIAN STATE-OWNED BROADCASTERS

The European Union will ban three Russian state-owned broadcasters as part of a sixth sanctions package over Moscow’s war in Ukraine, the bloc’s chief executive said in a statement.

“They will not be allowed to distribute their content anymore in the European Union, in whatever shape or form, be it on cable, via satellite, on the internet or via smartphone apps,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told EU lawmakers in Strasbourg.

She called the TV channels “mouthpieces that amplify (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s lies and propaganda aggressively”.

“We should not give them a stage anymore to spread these lies,” she added.

EU CHIEF PROPOSES UKRAINE WAR RECOVERY PLAN

Von der Leyen proposed launching a recovery package for Ukraine to help it rebuild after the war Russia is waging on its neighbour ends.

“This package should bring massive investment to meet the needs and the necessary reforms,” the EU’s chief executive told the European Parliament after proposing the sixth package of sanctions against Moscow, including an oil embargo.

“Eventually, it will pave the way for Ukraine‘s future inside the European Union,” von der Leyen said.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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