EU 11th package of sanctions on Russia no earlier than 'deep into May', says Poland FM

Warsaw: Aiming to counter loopholes and circumvention that Russia has somehow believed to have managed, Poland’s Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau said that the new round of European Union sanctions is under discussion but adoption of the package is unlikely earlier than “deep into May”.

The EU has already adopted 10 sanctions packages against Russia for waging war against Ukraine. The sanctions aim to target individuals and companies, inflicting economic and making financing the war more difficult.

It would be unrealistic to expect anything earlier, the Polish state-run news agency PAP cited Rau as saying.

“All of this still in the discussion phase … I think that the matter will be closed no sooner than deep into May,” Rau said. “You can’t expect anything sooner.”

With very little passage of time between the last and a current lot of sanctions against Russia, the European Union is now preparing to impose its 11th package of sanctions on the country, European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Mairead McGuinness recently said in an interview to CNBC.

These sanctions are meant to undermine Russia’s economy and drain funds for its war effort, but they are also increasingly inflicting pain on European economies already hit by high inflation and energy prices and still suffering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The West is running out of options for targeting Moscow after multiple rounds of sanctions backfired instead of crippling the Russian economy as intended,

However, in response to a question about restrictions imposed against the country, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told RT on Monday “All these restrictions have boomeranged,” he argued, noting the worsening cost-of-living crisis in Western countries, soaring inflation, and a decline in living standards.”

“Therefore, these countries are pursuing a short-sighted policy, introducing regular packages of restrictions and sanctions. We are developing our financial independence in the face of a tight budget and budgetary rules, targeted inflation,” he said, adding that the Russian government is also seeking independence in terms of payment instruments, including with the help of its Mir card and the domestic National Payment Card System (NSPK), as well as seeking to achieve technological sovereignty.

“When Western countries introduce new packages of restrictions, we take anti-sanction measures and we see that we are succeeding,” Siluanov was quoted by RT as saying. He also added that the Russian economy would reach positive growth rates this year.

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