Twelve EU countries, including Germany, have launched an initiative to fight more decisively against the circumvention of sanctions against Russia, DW reports.
The initiating countries propose, in particular, to launch a single analytical platform, which can be used to investigate specific cases and suspicious trade flows. Other proposals include expanding the ability to block access to the European single market for companies from countries outside the EU. It should also be possible to launch this measure in cases where goods or components exported to Russia can be used in its war against Ukraine, it is noted further.
The project was initiated by the Netherlands. The reason was the suspicion that some goods that cannot be delivered to the Russian Federation due to sanctions imposed by the European Union actually still enter the country by roundabout routes. Of concern are primarily components for the defense, energy and space industries.
"We do not want other countries to help Russia circumvent and avoid sanctions," Lawrence Boone, secretary of state for Europe at the French Foreign Ministry, said on the sidelines of an EU ministerial meeting. Her country is among those who supported the initiative.
