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| Germany unexpectedly opposes new sanctions package against Russia. (Source: Reuters) |
An unnamed EU representative revealed that Brussels felt “as if Germany had become the new Hungary”.
The new EU sanctions package aims to crack down on circumvention of restrictions. Brussels has planned tough sanctions against Russia’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector.
According to diplomats , the European Commission (EC) wants to ban the use of the Belgian port of Zeebrugge to transport Moscow's LNG to third countries.
The 27-member bloc hopes that with this move, Russia will sell less LNG.
DPA quoted the source as saying that Germany's suspicions were mainly related to measures drafted to make it more difficult to "circumvent" sanctions.
Europe’s largest economy is calling for sanctions against companies that help President Putin’s country evade sanctions to be limited or completely abandoned, a view based on concerns that German companies could be held liable.
Not only that, the German government also considers “certain reporting obligations” unnecessary and wants to relax measures designed to limit Russia's use of SPFS - an alternative payment system to SWIFT.
According to the original plan, the 14th package of sanctions against Russia would be announced before the start of the G7 Summit on June 13.
Diplomats say Germany prevented the G7 from reaching a political agreement until June 14.
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