We are talking about Gazprombank, through which payments for gas are made – it is he who can become the first candidate for excommunication from SWIFT in the eighth package of EU sanctions.

The European Union is considering a new tightening of financial sanctions against the Russian Federation.

According  to  Bloomberg, citing diplomats familiar with the situation, the last major state bank of the Russian Federation may be disconnected from the international payment system SWIFT, which retains access to it.

We are talking about Gazprombank, through which payments for gas are made – it is he who can become the first candidate for excommunication from SWIFT in the eighth package of EU sanctions.

The Baltic countries, Ireland and Poland offer to take such a step. They also propose to include in the eighth package of sanctions:

• a ban on the purchase of LNG in Russia,
• limit cooperation in nuclear energy,
• bring under sanctions services for insuring the supply of dollar banknotes (deliveries themselves have been prohibited since the beginning of March 2022);
• expand the ban on entry to European ports for Russian ships and new sanctions against propaganda media.

In addition, the European Union is considering tougher technological sanctions, a ban on the supply of software and cybersecurity tools, a complete embargo on Russian diamonds and steel, as well as restrictions on the real estate market. Transactions with companies and citizens of the Russian Federation who are not residents of one of the EU countries may be banned.

It is expected that the foreign ministers of the EU countries will consider the eighth package at a meeting in Prague on October 6-7.

It should be noted, as UNIAN wrote, Poland and the Baltic countries are actively promoting the strengthening of EU sanctions against Russia in response to Vladimir Putin’s decision to carry out partial mobilization and his  threats of nuclear war .

(C)UNIAN 2022