The European Union will approve a fresh round of sanctions against Russia on Monday, France has announced, in a package that targets 150 more entities and 50 banks. Paris says it drew up most of the new names itself, as the bloc keeps up economic pressure on Moscow while continuing to back Ukraine.
The announcement was made on Thursday by Benjamin Haddad, France’s minister for European affairs, during an interview with French television channel LCI. He said the measures would be adopted at the start of next week and form part of the EU’s continuing response to the war in Ukraine.
What the new sanctions cover
According to Haddad, the new package adds 150 entities and 50 banks to the EU’s sanctions lists. France proposed the bulk of the entities to be added, he said, underlining Paris’s central role in shaping the measures. The European Union has imposed successive rounds of sanctions since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, targeting energy revenues, banks, defence firms and individuals linked to the war effort.
Once approved by member states, the new listings will freeze any assets the named entities hold inside the EU and bar European companies and citizens from doing business with them. The bloc’s sanctions are normally adopted by the Council of the European Union and take effect once published in the EU’s Official Journal, a process that can move quickly once political agreement is reached.
Haddad used the same interview to condemn Moscow over entry bans imposed on French citizens. Russia has barred Le Monde reporter Ariane Chemin, freelance journalist and former Moscow correspondent Paul Gogo, and two French lawmakers, Sacha Houlie and Arthur Delaporte, from entering the country.
Describing the bans as intimidation, Haddad said France would not be intimidated. He said the journalists and lawmakers were simply doing their jobs, adding that the two parliamentarians were closely involved in the fight against foreign interference.
The sanctions announcement comes as diplomatic contacts over the war continue, with Russian and Ukrainian negotiators meeting in Abu Dhabi this week for a second round of talks. The two sides have already agreed a major prisoner exchange in the Gulf capital. Formal approval of the new measures is expected on Monday, after which the full list of sanctioned entities and banks will be published.