BRUSSELS — The EU on Wednesday cut seven
Russian banks from the
SWIFT payment system and banned Kremlin-controlled media
outlets RT and Sputnik from broadcasting into the bloc.
اضافة اعلان
The measures, effective immediately, were the latest
ratcheting up of the Western-coordinated sanctions on Russia for its invasion
of Ukraine, now in its seventh day.
“At the speed of light, the EU has adopted three
waves of heavy sanctions against Russia’s financial system, its high-tech
industries and its corrupt elite,”
European Commission chief Ursula von der
Leyen said in a statement.
The cumulative punishment over the past week, also
targeting Russian President
Vladimir Putin, ministers and oligarchs supporting
his rule as well as Russia’s central bank, has already caused Russia’s economy
to buckle.
But so far there is no sign of it deterring Putin
from an escalation of his war.
And EU officials said the sanctions — as well as
Russian countermeasures — would inevitably also hit the bloc’s economy, though
to a lesser degree.
‘Signal’ to Putin
Wednesday’s latest
sanctions, signaled since the weekend, exclude listed banks from the global
SWIFT interbank messaging network which allows for quick and secure
transactions.
The list comprised Russia’s second-biggest lender
VTB Bank as well as Bank Otkritie, Novikombank, Promsvyazbank,
Rossiya Bank,
Sovcombank, and VEB (Vnesheconombank), all of which were deemed to have direct
financing links to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The list did not name Russia’s biggest bank Sberbank
or another significant one, Gazprombank, in order to allow
EU countries to pay
for Russian gas and oil deliveries.
But a senior EU official said the list would be kept
“continuously under review” and could be changed according to “how the
situation is evolving on the ground”.
He added that, with cumulative earlier sanctions by
G7 partners, “slightly more than 80 percent of the (Russian) banking system is
subject to some sanctions,” in the form of the SWIFT ban, asset freezes and
financing sanctions imposed by the EU, the US, and Britain.
Switzerland — a major financial hub not in the EU —
has indicated it would follow the EU sanctions.
The EU is also barring new EU investment in the
Russian Direct Investment Fund and the supply of euro banknotes to anyone in
Russia, except for personal use or diplomatic reasons.
“This is the largest sanctions package in our
Union’s history. Today’s decision to disconnect key
Russian banks from the
SWIFT network will send yet another very clear signal to Putin and the
Kremlin,” von der Leyen said.
RT, Sputnik banned
Brussels also banned broadcasts
by RT, formerly known as Russia Today, and Sputnik, both considered propaganda
organs of the Kremlin parroting disinformation over what was happening in
Ukraine.
“We are taking an important step against Putin’s
manipulation operation and turning off the tap for Russian state-controlled
media in the EU,” the bloc’s foreign policy chief
Josep Borrell said.
Von der Leyen added: “We will not let
Kremlin apologists pour their toxic lies justifying Putin’s war or sow the seeds of
division in our Union.”
The EU declared both the outlets “a significant and
direct threat to the EU’s public order and security” and said they were
“essential and instrumental in bringing forward and supporting the aggression
against Ukraine, and for the destabilization of its neighboring countries”.
It announced an immediate ban on their signals via
satellite, cable, apps or the internet and a suspension of their licenses in
the EU, specifically also targeting RT’s subsidiaries broadcasting in English,
German, French, and Spanish.
Risks to EU
Officials warned the
Russian war in Ukraine would be deleterious for the
27-nation EU, compounding problems already experienced with supply constraints,
spiking energy prices and inflation.
“The Russian invasion will likely impact the eurozone’s
growth negatively,” EU economy commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said, adding that
the risks “shouldn’t be under-evaluated”.
“We can’t exclude that a further factor of crisis
can come in, for example gas supply conditions, financial consequences, or disruption
of supply chains,” he said.
The EU official speaking on the SWIFT sanctions said
it was inevitable that blocking Russian banks from the system would “impact”
the EU and Western countries.
But, he said, “that is understood and that is accepted”.
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