European leaders gave their seal of approval to the ninth package of sanctions against Russia following a summit in Brussels, Belgium on Thursday, Reuters reports.
The European Council said in its final declaration of the summit that the leaders had discussed how to further increase collective pressure on Russia to end its military operation and to withdraw its troops from Ukraine.
They said they welcomed the reinforcement of the EU restrictive measures against Russia, including through the EU's ninth package of restrictive measures and the international oil price cap, while ensuring a global level playing field.
An 18-billion-euro package of financial aid to help Ukraine was approved at the summit.
They also agreed to give Bosnia and Herzegovina formal candidate status, as the country seeks to join the bloc.
Although the members greenlighted the package of sanctions against Russia, they failed to reach consensus on some key issues such as energy and economy.
Since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine broke out 10 months ago, the EU has been imposing sanctions against Russia, which gave rise to a series of social and economic problems related to the livelihood of European people caused by soaring energy prices and high inflation.
The members also failed to react to the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which was proposed by the U.S. to curb inflation by reducing the deficit and investing into domestic energy production while promoting clean energy. The EU fears that the Act will unfairly disadvantage its companies relative to rivals in the United States.
The members are also divided over other key issues such as whether to cap gas prices, and how and by how much.
Russia responded that it will come up with a proper response to EU's mooted ninth package of sanctions just as it would with any other unfriendly steps taken in regard to Russia, the country's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.
