EU ambassadors agree to place four Russian media outlets on sanctions list

Reuters
·1 min read
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EU Commission Vice President Vera Jourova visits China

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU ambassadors agreed in principle on Wednesday to place four Russian media outlets on its sanctions list, accusing them of propaganda, EU Commissioner for Values and Transparency Vera Jourova said on social media platform X.

"Four Kremlin-linked propaganda networks (have been) added to the sanctions list: Voice of Europe, RIA Novosti, Izvestija and Rossiyskaya Gazeta", Jourova said, adding that it had also banned Russian funding of EU media, non-governmental organizations and political parties.

Both measures are part of a planned 14th package of sanctions against Russia over its 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to a document that Reuters saw last week. The bloc has previously imposed sanctions on Russian state-owned Russia Today and Sputnik.

The EU didn't immediately specify what measures apply to the latest media outlets added to the sanctions list. For media previously added, the sanctions meant they lost their broadcasting rights in the EU.

Russia warned the EU earlier on Wednesday that if the bloc were to impose restrictions on Russian media, Western reporters in Russia would feel a swift, harsh and painful response from the Russian state.

(Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout, Andrew Gray; Editing by Rod Nickel)