EU Wants to Sanction Russian Political Money Before European Vote

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(Bloomberg) — The European Union is proposing to ban political parties, think tanks and other groups from accepting money from Russia as part of its next round of sanctions to punish Moscow for its war on Ukraine.

The European Commission, the bloc’s executive body, is recommending member states agree to the steps as part of its 14th sanctions package, people familiar with the discussions say.

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Measures under discussion include banning imports of Russian helium, tightening export restrictions on manganese ore and other rare earth components, and banning port entry for about 11 ships suspected of supporting Russia’s war effort, people close to the discussion said Wanted to remain anonymous regarding confidential matters.

The proposal, which would also ban four other media companies from broadcasting in Europe, must be approved unanimously by the bloc’s 27 member states to come into force and is subject to change. Previous packages required weeks of closed-door negotiations.

European Commission Vice President Vera Jourova said on Sunday that the EU would impose sanctions on Voice of Europe, a website accused of spreading pro-Russian disinformation, alongside Gazeta, Ria Novosti and Izvestia.

“We don’t recognize them as media, they are just Putin’s propaganda tools,” Jourova told Czech public television.

The push to crack down on Russia’s political funding in the EU comes amid growing concerns about disinformation spread by Moscow surrounding the European Parliament elections in early June. According to Bloomberg, France, along with the Baltic states, Poland and the Netherlands, had called on the bloc to sanction Russia’s election interference.

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Czech intelligence services said in March they had uncovered a Russian network trying to use Voice of Europe to influence politics and public opinion across the continent. German far-right lawmaker Petr Bystron has denied taking money from the site, while Belgium opened an investigation in April into Kremlin political interference.

Rightmost

The moves could limit some far-right parties in Europe as some officials are accused of receiving Russian money. France’s far-right Rassemblement National party said last year it had repaid 6.1 million euros ($6.6 million) to replace a loan originally taken from a Russian bank in an effort to distance itself from allegations of foreign influence.

Support for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) fell after allegations of links to Chinese intelligence and a pro-Russian media organization.

In addition to the measures on Russia’s political financing, the EU sanctions are also expected to include a ban on the use of the Russian central bank’s financial messaging system.

Russia launched the Financial Messaging System, its own version of SWIFT, in late 2014 following initial sanctions after the country annexed Crimea from Ukraine. According to Interfax, the system worked with 20 countries in January. These include banks from Belarus, Armenia, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan.

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In the energy sector, Bloomberg previously reported that the EU would propose a ban on transshipment and transshipment services for liquefied natural gas from Russia to third countries and ban maintenance of Russian LNG projects in the Arctic.

Read more: EU considers sanctions against Russian LNG projects and transshipments

The EU has also proposed adding more than a dozen companies to an export restrictions list, including several in China, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey, for alleged roles in helping Moscow evade trade sanctions on goods used in weapons or needed for their production.

Another proposal from the bloc’s executive branch is to ban transport companies that are at least 25% Russian-owned from operating in the EU and add dozens more individuals and organizations to the list.

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