Poland and Baltic States offer compromise to include Rosatom in new EU sanctions package

This was reported by RMF.FM with reference to a document dated March 30, which was sent to the EU countries for consultation.

The document proposes to expand the sanctions list to include members of the Rosatom board, as well as to ban the signing of new agreements with the company, to ban investments in the Russian nuclear energy sector, and to ban the import of Russian enriched uranium to the EU.

As the publication notes, this is not the first time these four countries have insisted on sanctions against Rosatom. However, this time they propose some exceptions and transition periods. In particular, the abandonment of contracts with the Russian monopoly should be gradual, but not longer than two years. In return, Hungary would receive a nine-year transition period, which would allow it to complete the construction of the Paks NPP based on Russian technology.

The document's authors argue that the EU countries are gradually abandoning cooperation with Russia in the nuclear energy sector. In particular, last year the Czech Republic did not allow Rosatom to participate in a tender for the construction of a new nuclear power plant in the country. Last year, Finland also refused to cooperate with this Russian company on the construction of a nuclear reactor.

However, as the media notes, it will be very difficult to obtain consent to impose sanctions against Rosatom. It would require the consent of all EU countries.

However, Hungary and France, as well as Bulgaria, which are heavily dependent on Russian technology, have repeatedly disagreed with this, and France does not want to abandon cooperation with Russia in this area.

In addition, the publication adds, there is a belief in Brussels that the 11th package of sanctions should be more about safeguards to avoid the already imposed sanctions, rather than new areas of the Russian economy.

The head of the Presidential Office of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, welcomed the proposal of Poland and the Baltic states to include restrictions on Russia's nuclear energy in the 11th EU sanctions package.

"Sanctions against the Russian nuclear power industry are exactly what we need. I welcome the proposal of Poland and the Baltic states to include restrictions on Russia's nuclear energy in the 11th EU sanctions package," Yermak wrote on Telegram.

He also added that the new sanctions package will contain "a lot of trouble for the Russians."

• Earlier, Biden announced a one-year extension of a number of sanctions against Russia, which were imposed because of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.