France, Italy Slow EU Plan to Ban Russian Veterans, Fearing Broader Citizen Ban
France and Italy are slowing the EU's 21st sanctions package, specifically a ban on Russian war veterans, due to concerns it could expand to all Russian citizens. The package, which also includes oil price cap adjustments and trade restrictions, faces other member state reservations. Discussions on the wider sanctions package are scheduled for Friday, June 26.
France and Italy are delaying the EU's 21st sanctions package, specifically a proposal to ban Russian war veterans from the bloc. While they support barring former combatants, both countries fear the current wording could lead to a blanket prohibition on all Russian citizens.
They argue a targeted travel ban is better suited for visa policy than sanctions and highlight the difficulty for individual member states to determine who has fought. France, Italy, and Spain received nearly three-quarters of the over 670,000 Schengen visa applications from Russians last year.
The broader sanctions package also faces other obstacles. It aims to freeze the EU's price cap on Russian oil, which currently adjusts every six months to 15% below the Urals crude average. Officials are debating whether to freeze the cap at its current $44.10 per barrel or reset it to $60, with maritime nations expressing reservations. Other measures include extending rules against tankers to LNG ships, limiting Russian fish imports, trade restrictions on critical minerals, and export controls on two dozen firms in China, India, Türkiye, and Central Asia accused of supplying Russia's weapons makers. It would also add 30 vessels to the shadow-fleet blacklist.