The European Commission is working on preparing the 16th package of sanctions against Russia, which may, in particular, include a ban on the import of Russian aluminum.
This was reported by Reuters, citing sources among European Union diplomats, ZN.ua reports.
According to the agency, on Tuesday, representatives of the European Commission held preliminary discussions with EU member states to agree on the details of the new sanctions package. One of the interlocutors noted that the ban on Russian aluminum imports is proposed to be implemented gradually.
The EU has so far refrained from a complete ban on Russian metal imports due to objections from individual member states. Currently, the bloc's current sanctions ban only a limited group of aluminum products, such as wire, pipes and foil, which account for less than 15% of total EU imports of the metal.
Aluminum, which is significantly lighter than steel, remains an important material for the transportation, packaging and construction industries, as well as for the production of electric vehicle parts.
At the same time, information appeared in the media that ten EU countries, including Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Ireland, and Finland, called for an immediate halt to imports of all types of Russian gas, including liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The European Union previously banned the supply of Russian gas by sea, but maintained pipeline gas imports due to the dependence of some countries, including Slovakia and Hungary. The governments of these states have repeatedly opposed the EU's sanctions policy and called for improved relations with Russia.
The official presentation of the 16th package of sanctions is scheduled for the end of February, on the eve of the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.