The European Commission on July 15 adopted a joint proposal for new measures to uphold the effectiveness of the EU's six sanctions packages against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, the commission announced. Dubbed the "maintenance and alignment" package, it includes a new import ban on Russian gold, reinforces dual-use and advanced technology export controls, strengthens reporting requirements to shore up asset freezes, clarifies the scope of some sanctions and extends current sanctions until January 2023. “Russia's brutal war against Ukraine continues unabated," EC President Ursula von der Leyen said. "Therefore, we are proposing today to tighten our hard-hitting EU sanctions against the Kremlin, enforce them more effectively and extend them until January 2023. Moscow must continue to pay a high price for its aggression.”
The European Council renewed the EU terrorist list, which lays out the individuals and entities subject to anti-terrorism sanctions, for another six months, the council announced July 18. The list currently has 13 individuals and 21 groups and entities, subjecting them all to the freezing of assets. The sanctions regime was set up following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Businesses in the U.K. are more confident than firms in Europe over the future, even following a record-low drop in an index of optimism, according to data from Accenture and S&P Global, Bloomberg reported July 17. The data firms said their net balance measuring whether British companies expect activity to increase dropped to 28% in June from 56% in February. This is the lowest reading since the survey started in 2009, though higher than in other places around the world, including the EU, Bloomberg said. The main cause of the drop is record inflation. Accenture attributed U.K. companies' higher confidence levels than businesses in other countries to being more accustomed to coping with uncertainty, Bloomberg reported.
The EU released guidance on the transit of goods from Russia. The guidance, published by the European Commission, confirms that the transit of sanctioned goods by road is not allowed under EU sanctions but said these restrictions don't apply to rail transport, without prejudice to member states' obligations to exercise effective controls. The shipment of sanctioned military and dual use goods and technology is barred regardless of the mode of transport, the guidance said.
The EU updated its frequently asked questions over its Russian sanctions regime, releasing guidance on road transport and the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The road transport FAQs cover criteria member state authorities should apply to determine if the transport of goods by a road transport undertaking established in Russia or Belarus is necessary and thus should be authorized; whether an authorization should be granted to a single shipment, a company or a specific transport operation; and more. The Donetsk and Luhansk FAQs cover how operators should assess which areas in the regions are subject to restrictions and how member states should treat Russian companies when they carry out goods transiting between Russia and Kaliningrad.
The U.K.'s Export Control Joint Unit updated the open general export license for military goods and technology to India. The move updated the conditions for shipping software or source code under the license. One condition says software or source code being exported must not be intended to boost the military capability of the end user beyond what was originally supplied under the U.K.'s license issued within the previous two years.
Shipping giant Mediterranean Shipping Co. continues to accept deliveries of food, medicine, health-care equipment and humanitarian aid from Russia, the company confirmed in response to questions from Bloomberg. MSC is attempting to draw a balance between cutting business ties with Russia following its invasion of Ukraine and continuing to provide essential goods to the nation, the company told Bloomberg, the news outlet reported July 14.
The U.K.'s House of Commons Library released two research briefs reviewing energy imports from Russia and sanctions on that country. "Imports of energy from Russia" covers the U.K.'s reliance on Russian energy, Russian energy's impact on international energy markets, restrictions on Russian energy imports, and data on Russian energy reliance. "Sanctions against Russia" reviews U.K. sanctions on Russia before 2022, as well as the U.K.'s response to Russia's recent aggression toward Ukraine, coordination of sanctions with other major countries and secondary sanctions.
The England and Wales High Court adjourned a trial involving Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, only recently releasing the May 6 judgment publicly. Deripaska was sanctioned by many of the world's leading economies in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. As a result, the defendant cannot pay his lawyers for legal representation in the present case, so the legal team is "coming off the record." The lawyers applied to adjourn to avoid an unfair trial. In vacating the case, Justice Sara Cockerill ruled she is "satisfied in this significant hard-fought and complex case a fair trial would not be possible -- however dim a view one takes of Mr Deripaska's past actions." The case involves a long-running dispute over alleged breaches by Deripaska, with Navigator Equities obtaining an arbitral award against the oligarch.
The U.K. amended entries under its Russia and Belarus sanctions regime, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said in a pair of notices July 12. Under the Russia sanction list, OFSI amended 16 entries and corrected those for Vadim Anatolyevich Lukashevich and German Valentinovich Belous.