BRUSSELS, July 21. /TASS/. The seventh package of EU sanctions introduced a ban on the export of gold from Russia and expanded the EU blacklist, but also significantly eased a number of financial restrictions on Russian oil and food exports and lifted some bans on the supply of certain goods and services to Russia for aviation. This is according to a statement issued by the EU Council on Thursday.
The legal details of the new package of sanctions will be known later, when the full text of the regulation and annexes is published in the Official Journal of the EU.
"Today’s "maintenance and alignment" package introduces a new prohibition to purchase, import, or transfer, directly or indirectly, gold, if it originates in Russia and it has been exported from Russia into the EU or to any third country after. This prohibition also covers jewellery," the document says.
"With a view to avoid any potential negative consequences for food and energy security around the world, the EU decided to extend the exemption from the prohibition to engage in transactions with certain state-owned entities as regards transactions for agricultural products and the transport of oil to third countries," the document says. According to the document, supplies of medicines are not subject to any restrictions either.
The EU also lifted ban on supplies of number of goods, services and technologies for aviation.
"For instance, technical assistance to Russia for aviation goods and technology will be allowed insofar as it is needed to safeguard the technical industrial standard setting work of the International Civil Aviation Organization, and the prohibition to enter into any transactions with Russian public entities will be slightly amended to ensure access to justice," according to the document.
The new sanctions also "expand the scope of the prohibition on accepting deposits to include those from legal persons, entities or bodies established in third countries and majority-owned by Russian nationals or natural persons residing in Russia."
"The acceptance of deposits for non-prohibited cross-border trade will be subject to a prior authorization by the national competent authorities," the document says.
In turn, EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said on Twitter that Sberbank and the Night Wolves motorcycle club, as well as a number of Russian military men, were included in the EU blacklist under the seventh package of sanctions.