Cereals: Brussels backpedals on certain sanctions against Russian banks

Sorting barley grains at a grain warehouse in Rostov region, Russia, July 6, 2022. REUTERS - SERGEY PIVOVAROV

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The war in Ukraine has damaged the world food trade as much as the European Union's sanctions against Russia: an accusation heard enough for the Europeans to decide to review their sanctions.

Senegalese President Macky Sall was moved by this during his speech by videoconference before the last European summit, when Africa was dependent before the war on Russia and Ukraine for 50% of its cereal imports.

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With our correspondent in Brussels,

The European Commission is proposing to the 27 to reverse certain fund freezes of sanctioned Russian banks, in order to facilitate agricultural trade.

Among these, large systemic banks like Okritye FC Bank or public players like Vnescheconombank, a development bank of the Russian Federation.

interbank exchange

platform remains in theory prohibited for these seven banks.

They will remain subject to European sanctions, but the Commission proposes to authorize that funds which belong to these banks and which are frozen can be released.

This would obviously be done after prior verification on a case-by-case basis, the objective being to allow 

 ” of agricultural and food products, “

”.

The measure could be easily endorsed by the 27 who are currently in the process of clarifying their sanctions against Russia, because their political objective is obviously to demonstrate that it is Russia who is disrupting the world's supplies of cereals.

(And with AFP)

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