BRUSSELS (Voice of Russia): The European Commission has for the first time set up a permanent office for the preparation, implementation and monitoring of economic sanctions against Russia, aimed at organising the European Commission’s various activities related to sanctions under a single administrative system. The European Commission has confirmed that the preparation of the 22nd package of economic sanctions against Russia is also under way, though the date of its formal announcement has not yet been fixed.
European Commission spokesperson Siobhan McGarry announced the establishment of the new office during a press briefing in Brussels, saying that the high-level meeting of sanctions coordinators was informed about this new institutional arrangement.
According to the spokesperson, this permanent office set up within the European Commission will bring together the Commission’s activities related to the entire process of economic sanctions. Under it, work at various stages, from the preparation of sanctions to their implementation and related administrative matters, will be coordinated.
Siobhan McGarry said that the European Commission is currently working on the 22nd package of sanctions against Russia. However, she did not clarify when the new package would be presented or which sectors and institutions it would target.
The establishment of the permanent sanctions office by the European Commission has come at a time when the European Union is continuing work on the current system of economic sanctions against Russia and new proposals for further sanctions are under consideration.
The European Commission has made it clear several times before that merely adding new names to the list of sanctions against Russia will not be considered the 22nd package of economic sanctions, because that extension did not include any new economic sanctions.
According to this clarification, the European Commission sees the new package of economic sanctions and the extension of the existing sanctions list as two separate measures.
The establishment of the new permanent office shows an effort to bring sanctions-related work within the European Commission under a central administrative structure. However, no further information was provided about the number of staff in the office, the details of its powers and its complete working procedure.
On the other hand, despite the ongoing preparation of the 22nd package of economic sanctions against Russia, the European Commission has so far not announced its proposed measures, possible targets or approval schedule.
After this latest move by the European Commission, attention has focused on the future administrative system of sanctions against Russia and the nature of the possible new economic sanctions in the 22nd package.
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