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11 INTERNATIONAL NEWS 10.3.2022 THE European Commission welcomed yesterday's agreement of EU Member States to adopt further targeted sanc- tions in view of the situation in Ukraine and in response to Belarus's involve- ment in the aggression. In particular, the new measures im- pose restrictive measures on 160 in- dividuals and amend Regulation (EC) 765/2006 concerning restrictive meas- ures in view of the situation in Belarus and Regulation (EU) 833/2014 con- cerning Russia's actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine. ese amendments create a closer alignment of EU sanctions regarding Russia and Belarus and will help to en- sure even more effectively that Russian sanctions cannot be circumvented, in- cluding through Belarus. For Belarus, the measures introduce SWIFT prohibitions similar to those in the Russia regime, clarify that crypto assets fall under the scope of "transfer- able securities" and further expand the existing financial restrictions by mir- roring the measures already in place regarding Russia sanctions. In particular, the agreed measures will: • Restrict the provision of SWIFT services to Belagroprombank, Bank Dabrabyt, and the Develop- ment Bank of the Republic of Be- larus, as well as their Belarusian subsidiaries. • Prohibit transactions with the Central Bank of Belarus related to the management of reserves or assets, and the provision of public financing for trade with and in- vestment in Belarus. • Prohibit the listing and provision of services in relation to shares of Belarus state-owned entities on EU trading venues as of 12 April 2022. • Significantly limit the financial inflows from Belarus to the EU, by prohibiting the acceptance of deposits exceeding €100.000 from Belarusian nationals or residents, the holding of accounts of Bela- rusian clients by the EU central securities depositories, as well as the selling of euro-denominated securities to Belarusian clients. • Prohibit the provision of euro de- nominated banknotes to Belarus. For Russia, the amendment introduc- es new restrictions on the export of maritime navigation and radio commu- nication technology, adds Russian Mar- itime Register of Shipping to the list of state-owned enterprises subject to financing limitations and introduces a prior information sharing provision for exports of maritime safety equipment. In addition, it also extends the exemp- tion relating to the acceptance of de- posits exceeding €100.000 in EU banks to Swiss and EEA nationals. Finally, the EU confirmed the com- mon understanding that loans and credit can be provided by any means, including crypto assets, as well as fur- ther clarified the notion of "transferable securities", so as to clearly include cryp- to-assets, and thus ensure the proper implementation of the restrictions in place. Furthermore, the amendment intro- duces new restrictions. Furthermore, an additional 160 indi- viduals have been listed in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. e listed individuals include: • 14 oligarchs and prominent busi- nesspeople involved in key eco- nomic sectors providing a sub- stantial source of revenue to the Russian Federation - notably in the metallurgical, agriculture, pharmaceutical, telecom and dig- ital industries -, as well as their family members. • 146 members of the Russian Federation Council, who ratified the government decisions of the 'Treaty of Friendship, Coopera- tion and Mutual Assistance be- tween the Russian Federation and the Donetsk People's Republic' and the 'Treaty of Friendship, Co- operation and Mutual Assistance between the Russian Federation and the Luhansk People's Repub- lic'. Altogether, EU restrictive measures now apply to a total of 862 individuals and 53 entities. Yesterday's decision builds on the wide-ranging and unprecedented packages of measures the EU has been taking in response to Russia's acts of aggression on Ukraine's territorial in- tegrity. As guardian of the EU Trea- ties, the European Commission is in charge of monitoring the enforcement of EU sanctions across the Union. e EU stands united in its solidarity with Ukraine and will continue to support Ukraine and its people together with its international partners, including through additional political, financial and humanitarian support. Ukraine: EU agrees to extend the scope of sanctions on Russia and Belarus

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