The EU Commission proposed another package of sanctions against Russia on Wednesday.

In doing so, she was reacting to the sham referendums in four Ukrainian regions, mostly occupied by Russia, and their imminent annexation.

It was "an illegal attempt to steal land and move international borders by force," said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The mobilization of Russian soldiers and the nuclear threats are further escalation steps.

"We are determined to make the Kremlin pay for this escalation."

Thomas Gutschker

Political correspondent for the European Union, NATO and the Benelux countries based in Brussels.

  • Follow I follow

At the heart of what is now the eighth package is a price cap for Russian oil, which the EU and its G-7 partners want to enforce worldwide.

In addition, further imports from Russia in the amount of seven billion euros are to be banned.

Von der Leyen also took up a German proposal to ban EU citizens from senior positions in Russian state-owned companies - a consequence of the case of former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder.

Trade in goods is further restricted

Von der Leyen did not give any details about the oil price cap.

This point is controversial among Member States.

Hungary and Cyprus in particular have raised internal objections.

The government in Budapest fears that Moscow will stop supplying oil.

It is not participating in the oil embargo decided in June.

There are also transitional provisions for the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Bulgaria.

All other countries will no longer import crude oil from Russia from the beginning of December, and two months later no more refined products either.

The oil price cap does not affect them directly, it is intended to reduce the income that Moscow generates from trade with other countries.

However, oil tankers registered in the EU should only deliver Russian oil to China or India if the price is capped.

This primarily affects shipowners in Cyprus, Malta and Greece.

The Commission is apparently considering financially compensating these countries should they lose market share.

However, there is also resistance to this among the member states.

The proposal is a bit cynical, a diplomat said on Wednesday, after all, other countries have been hit much harder by previous sanctions decisions.

It is undisputed that trade in goods with Russia should be further restricted.

On the one hand, this applies to the export of key technology.

Von der Leyen named components for aviation, electronic components and chemical substances as examples.

These export bans would "further weaken Russia's economic base and ability to modernize."

More people affected

According to FAZ information, the imports from Russia, which are to be banned, are about other steel products and special types of coal that are required in oil refineries.

Diamonds may also be affected for the first time.

Last year, Russian rough diamonds worth 1.8 billion euros were imported into Antwerp, the center of European trade.

In the spring, the Belgian government prevented an import ban, but then softened its stance.

Von der Leyen justified the proposal to ban EU citizens from working on the executive bodies of Russian state-owned companies by saying that Russia should not benefit from European expertise.

The justification of the Federal Government was clearer when it suggested this to the partners in the middle of the month.

According to a paper available to the FAZ, Moscow is trying to buy political influence in the EU states by awarding such posts.

"We should put an end to these attempts at strategic corruption." This was aimed squarely at the Schröder case.

The former Chancellor only resigned from his post on the board of directors of the oil company Rosneft at the end of May after massive public pressure.

As the external representative Josep Borrell explained, there will be numerous new listings of people and companies in the new package.

They are said to be directed against those who organized the sham referendums in four Ukrainian regions on the union with Russia.

In addition, other high-ranking representatives of the military and the armaments sector are to be punished.

The circumvention of sanctions is to be introduced as a new criterion for listing.

This applies, for example, to people who import prohibited European goods to Russia via third countries.