SANÇÕES CONTRA A A RÚSSIA DIVIDEM UE Escreve a Reuters: SANCTIONS Still, it is by no means clear that the sanctions will pass in their proposed form: the 28 EU member states must all agree on any measures, and several have openly expressed scepticism. Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said he would study ways to reduce the harm to his country from sanctions, and seemed unconvinced by the entire strategy. The problem is that if sanctions are escalated now, there will be a reaction from Russia and we are not able to estimate at this point what impact the next wave of sanctions by Russia against EU countries will have, he said. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has also expressed concern, calling sanctions meaningless and counterproductive. The measures described by EU diplomats all build on earlier sanctions imposed in July, which hit Russian business broadly for the first time. The new proposals on the table would widen a ban on Russian state banks raising capital in EU markets to cover all Russian state-owned firms. The capital markets borrowing ban would be extended to include syndicated loans from EU banks, and a ban on sales in Europe of Russian debt instruments for periods of less than 90 days would be reduced to 30 days. Bans on sales of energy technology and technology with dual military and civilian uses would be tightened. And the 28-member bloc could also consider more symbolic measures, like adding Russias defense minister to an EU travel ban list and possibly even limiting future sport and culture exchanges. The European Union also opened a pipeline that could supply Ukraine with 20 percent of its natural gas needs, important aid for a country that depends on Russian energy. Kiev has been burning gas reserves since Moscow cut it off two months ago. The International Monetary Fund, which is supporting Kiev with loans, said it would need a bigger bailout if war goes on.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Sep 2014 20:18:46 +0000
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