BRUSSELS, January 29. /TASS/. The European Commission (EC) registered the European Citizens’ Initiative to completely ban imports from Russia and Belarus in the European Union, the EC press service said.
If authors of this initiative gather one million signatures in its support in at least seven EU countries, the EC will be obliged to take note of it but only as a recommendation.
"The initiative invites the Commission 'to propose firm, immediate measures to end the EU's remaining import dependencies on Russia and Belarus by introducing sectoral bans or decisive phase-outs,'" the press service said.
"The Commission has not analyzed the substance of the proposals at this stage. The registration does not influence the Commission's final decision on its merits, or any potential action it may take," the EC said.
An unprecedented number of trade bans for EU countries was approved earlier as part of sanctions against Russia and Belarus.
The European Citizens’ Initiative concept was launched in the EU in 2012. Over 13 years, 126 initiatives were registered, which did not lead to making any major decisions.