SWIFT analog, LNG and media: What new EU sanctions package against Russia may include?

Bloomberg reports, citing sources familiar with the situation.

Russian analog of SWIFT

The European Union is considering expanding financial sanctions against Russia and blacklisting the Russian analog of SWIFT, the Financial Messaging System (FMS) of the Bank of Russia.

Russia launched its own version of SWIFT in late 2014 after the initial sanctions. As of January, the system worked with 20 countries. This includes banks from Belarus, Armenia, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan.

Financing politicians and analysts

The European Union also proposes to ban political parties, think tanks, and other groups from accepting funding from Russia.

Seeking to suppress Russian political funding in the EU comes amid growing concerns about disinformation being spread by Moscow related to the European Parliament elections in early June. France, along with the Baltic states, Poland, and the Netherlands, called on the bloc to sanction Russia's interference in the elections, Bloomberg previously reported.

Bans on transportation and metals

Measures under discussion also include a ban on imports of Russian helium, tighter export restrictions on manganese ore and other rare earth components, and a ban on port access for about 11 ships suspected of helping the war effort.

Another proposal by the bloc's executive is to ban transportation companies that are at least 25% owned by Russia from operating in the EU.

European exporters will also be asked to strengthen due diligence on their trade practices, and could face lawsuits if they obstruct circumvention through lack of checks.

Ban on broadcasting by propagandists

A proposal that would also ban the broadcasting of four propaganda outlets in Europe.

Vice President of the European Commission Věra Jourová said that the EU would impose sanctions on the Voice of Europe website, which is accused of spreading pro-Russian disinformation, as well as on Rossiyskaya Gazeta, RIA Novosti, and Izvestia.

"We do not recognize them as media outlets, they are just tools of Putin's propaganda," Jourová told Czech public television.

Sanctions against Russian LNG

As for the energy sector, Bloomberg reported earlier that the EU will propose to ban the transshipment of liquefied natural gas from Russia destined for third countries, as well as to ban the maintenance of Russian LNG projects in the Arctic.

Sanctions against foreign companies that help Russia

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

The proposed package includes a series of sanctions against Belarus for its role in the conflict, including a ban on imports of navigation technology and luxury goods, exports of crude oil and diamonds, and any agreements that could increase Belarus' industrial potential.

According to the agency's interlocutors, the European Commission has sent the relevant proposals to the EU member states.