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EU’s fifth package of sanctions covers coal, fertilizers, banks — statement

A full ban on transactions is imposed on four key Russian banks representing 23% of market share in the Russian banking sector, the document reads

BRUSSELS, April 8. /TASS/. The European Union approved the fifth package of sanctions against Russia, the EU Council said in a statement released on Friday.

The package of sanctions contains "a prohibition to purchase, import or transfer coal and other solid fossil fuels into the EU if they originate in Russia or are exported from Russia, as from August 2022. Imports of coal into the EU are currently worth EUR 8 billion per year," the EU Council said.

The ban is imposed "to provide access to EU ports to vessels registered under the flag of Russia. Derogations are granted for agricultural and food products, humanitarian aid, and energy," according to the press release.

There is introduced "a ban on any Russian and Belarusian road transport undertaking preventing them from transporting goods by road within the EU, including in transit. Derogations are nonetheless granted for a number of products, such as pharmaceutical, medical, agricultural and food products, including wheat, and for road transport for humanitarian purposes," according to the document.

The EU stipulates "further export bans, targeting jet fuel and other goods such as quantum computers and advanced semiconductors, high-end electronics, software, sensitive machinery and transportation equipment, and new import bans on products such as: wood, cement, fertilisers, seafood and liquor. The agreed export and import bans only account for EUR 10 billion and EUR 5.5 billion respectively," the EU Council added.

A full ban on transactions "is imposed on four key Russian banks representing 23% of market share in the Russian banking sector. After being de-SWIFTed these banks will now be subject to an asset freeze, thereby being completely cut off from EU markets," the EU Council noted.