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The President of the European Commission confirmed today that the European Union is working on new sanctions against Russia in light of the Kremlin's "negligence towards civilians" during the ongoing military offensive in Ukraine.
In a press statement at the EU executive's headquarters in Brussels, Italian Prime Minister Ursula von der Leyen indicated that one of the issues he will discuss with Mario Draghi is "the new sanctions package" that the EU is "working on right now" to punish "the atrocious war" waged by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Ukraine.
"As you know, we already have three high-impact sanctions packages. But now we have to make sure that there are no loopholes and that the effects of the sanctions are maximized," he said.
According to Von der Leyen, "the existing sanctions are really 'biting'," as evidenced by "the downward turbulence in the Russian economy," but "in view of developments in Ukraine, and the Kremlin's neglect of civilians - women, children, men," the EU is "naturally already working on new sanctions."
For his part, Mario Draghi welcomed "the unity" of the European bloc in the face of Russia's military aggression in Ukraine and argued that "it is essential" that the 27 "remain united to deal with all the consequences that this crisis will have throughout the Union, including the reception of refugees from Ukraine and the protection of energy security."
Von der Leyen added that he will also discuss with Draghi the issue of Energy and how the EU can "free itself" from dependence on Russian oil and gas, saying that the European Commission will present a proposal as early as Tuesday at the college's weekly meeting in Strasbourg, France.
Last Friday, as he was leaving another extraordinary meeting of EU foreign ministers on the war in Ukraine, Minister Augusto Santos Silva revealed that "certainly" new Russian personalities, namely oligarchs, will soon be added to the EU sanctions list.
"In view of the unfortunately very negative developments in the situation on the ground, with the continuation and escalation of Russian military aggression, we have held a first discussion at the political level about new measures and new sanctions," he said.
The minister specified that the 27 have in mind, among other things, "new measures to isolate Russia in international organizations, particularly in multilateral financial institutions" and "the expansion of the list of Russian personalities linked to the oligarchy and the regime to be sanctioned.
Santos Silva revealed that the names to be added to the list are already being discussed, pointing out that "with Portugal's full support, Poland presented a first additional list", and that it is now necessary to "comply with the rules of legal procedures within the EU".
"But certainly in the coming days or weeks we will add to the list of Russian natural persons subject to sanctions for being politically, militarily or economically linked to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's regime new natural or legal persons," he said.
Russia launched in the early hours of February 24 a military offensive in Ukraine that, according to Kiev authorities, has already claimed more than 2,000 lives among the civilian population.
The attacks have also caused more than 1.5 million people to flee to neighboring countries, according to the UN.
The Russian invasion was condemned by the international community in general, which responded by sending arms to Ukraine and tightening economic sanctions on Moscow.