EU Sanctions Strategy Shift: Targeted Approach Considered Amid Unity Struggles
European foreign ministers are set to discuss revising their approach to sanctioning Russia's economy at an upcoming meeting, amid growing difficulties in achieving unanimous agreement on new sanctions.
The EU has been struggling to find common ground on new sanctions since the last package descended into acrimonious discussions between Greece and other member states over a carve-out for its gas-shipping sector in July.
The EU is now exploring a more piecemeal, or 'thematic,' approach, where specific sectors or technologies are targeted, such as Russian ballistic missiles or cryptocurrency. This method aims to allow the EU to respond quickly to fast-moving developments on the battlefield and prevent national interests from clogging the pipeline.
Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže emphasized the need for a faster response: 'Whenever we have an ecosystem ready to be sanctioned, like on Russian ballistic missiles or crypto, once we have it, let's just sanction it.'