EU Leaders to Urge New Sanctions for Belarus, North Korea, Iran

Richard Bravo and Alberto Nardelli
·2 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- European Union leaders will next week call for new sanctions targeting Belarus, North Korea and Iran over their role in helping Russia conduct its war against Ukraine.

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“Russia’s access to sensitive items and technologies with battlefield relevance must continue to be restricted,” according to draft conclusions of the March 21-22 leaders’ summit seen by Bloomberg. This includes “targeting entities in third countries enabling this illicit trade,” it said.

The EU is trying to step up support for Kyiv with the war now in its third year, and as Ukraine’s troops struggle to overcome a shortage of ammunition and personnel. The current deadlock in fighting is “shifting the momentum” in Moscow’s favor, US intelligence agencies told the Senate on Monday.

The EU approved a modest package of sanctions last month aimed at Moscow, its 13th since Russia invaded Ukraine. Those measures focused on enforcing existing restrictions.

The leaders will also discuss progress on how to use frozen Russian central bank assets. Western nations have frozen about €260 billion ($282 billion) in securities and cash, more than two-thirds of it in the European Union.

The bloc is moving forward with a plan to apply a windfall tax to the profits generated by the frozen assets and to use that money for Ukraine. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said last month that the proceeds should be used to buy weapons for Kyiv.

The EU will also reiterate its call for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war to allow for the delivery of urgent aid into Gaza, where much of the population is in dire need of food and medical supplies, according to the conclusions, which could still change. Work should then start on a sustained peace process based on the so-called two-state solution — an outcome favored by the US, Saudi Arabia and others that would allow Palestinians some autonomy.

The leaders will also condemn Israel’s recent decision to authorize another 3,500 homes for Israelis in the West Bank, one of two main Palestinian territories alongside Gaza, the draft said. Israel has tightened restrictions on the movement of Palestinians and their right to work in Israel since the start of the war, and there have been clashes with Israelis who have set up home in the area, known as settlers.

--With assistance from John Bowker.

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