MADRID, May 7. /TASS/. The new package of EU sanctions against Russia that is still being readied, suggests introduction of restrictions against 52 individuals and legal entities, the Spanish newspaper El Pais said.
Brussels suggests member states of the European Union ban not import of Russian LNG to the EU, but only its re-export outside the Union, the paper wrote. Representatives of European countries will discuss this initiative on May 8.
If passed the move may seriously influence such countries as Spain, which is the EU’s largest importer of LNG from Russia, the publication said. Brussels also supports the ban on new European investment in Russia’s LNG sector.
Valdis Dombrovskis, executive vice president of the European Commission (EC), the EU's executive arm, said earlier that the European Union was having a hard time negotiating the 14th package of sanctions against Russia, adding that it would most likely not contain new restrictions, but only attempts to counter Russian measures to overcome the sanctions blockade. The EC started developing the 14th package of sanctions against Moscow right after the adoption of the 13th package, which was approved on February 23. The restrictions affected 106 individuals and 88 legal entities from Russia and a number of other countries, including India, Kazakhstan, China, Serbia, Thailand, Turkey, and Sri Lanka.