Switzerland adopts the European Union’s fifth comprehensive package of sanctions against Russia
I. Adoption of the fifth EU sanctions package
In view of Russia’s ongoing military aggression against Ukraine, the Swiss Federal Council decided on April 13 to adopt it in full the new sanctions Introduced by the EU in April in its fifth sanctions package against Russia (see blog post here). The regulation on measures related to the situation in Ukraine (the “Regulation”) is now being revised accordingly. It will be published and come into force some time after the Easter holidays.
The new EU measures target trade, finance and transport. On the trade front, the measures include an import ban on coal and other items that serve as important sources of revenue for Russia (such as timber, cement, seafood and vodka), and an export ban on kerosene and other items that could help boost industrial capacity Russia (including industrial robots and certain chemicals).
In the area of financial restrictions, the new EU measures include a ban on Russian companies participating in public procurement, a ban on financial support for Russian public bodies and other new financial measures targeting trusts in particular.
Namely, the new EU measures targeting transport include a ban on Russian and Belarusian road transport companies preventing them from transporting goods by road within the EU and a ban on access to EU ports for Russian ships. The Federal Council has announced that Switzerland will not adopt these transport bans as it considers them unnecessary due to Switzerland’s geographical location.
II. Extension of the list of designated parties
In addition, Switzerland decided on April 13 to nominate a further 200 people and organizations. The updated list includes figures from politics, industry, communications/propaganda, and the armed forces, as well as key oligarchs and two daughters of President Putin. The list of Switzerland’s designated parties in Appendix 8 of the regulation corresponds in full to that of the EU. The changes went into effect at 6 p.m. on April 13.
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