European Commission President Says EU Planning To Appoint Special Envoy For Sanctions

The European Union is planning to appoint a special representative for sanctions, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st October, 2022) The European Union is planning to appoint a special representative for sanctions, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday.

"We have in mind to name a sanctions envoy because our experience is that it is very helpful to send this sanctions envoy for example to third countries to be very clear about what we observe," von der Leyen said after the second day of the EU summit in Brussels

According to the EU sanctions map, the bloc has imposed sanctions on a number of African and Asian countries, including Libya, Mali, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Myanmar.

The EU has also increased its sanction pressure on Moscow due to the Russian military operation in Ukraine launched in late February.

On October 7, the European Union introduced the eighth package of sanctions against Moscow which, among other things, sets a framework for capping the price of Russian seaborne oil exports at a level coordinated by G7 allies. The measure will go into effect on December 5 for crude oil and on February 5 for refined petroleum products. Some EU countries, including Hungary, were excluded from such measures as they import Russian oil through pipelines.

The price cap move alongside prior decisions to cut Russian gas supplies to Europe exacerbated the energy and cost of living crises in EU countries, pushing their governments to turn to contingency measures amid growing public discontent.