EU's Von Der Leyen Avoids Answering Whether EU Will Impose Sanctions On Rosatom

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 09th May, 2023) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who paid an official visit to Kiev on Tuesday, avoided answering the question whether the European Union will impose sanctions on Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom.

"On the question to the nuclear, we are working very intensively with our member states to diversify away so to be independent ... this is hard work but some of the member states are making progress and you can rely on the fact that we will keep pushing our member states," von der Leyen told reporters when asked whether Rosatom is included in the 11th package of EU sanctions against Russia.

In late February, the EU introduced its 10th sanctions package against Moscow, however, it did not include any direct restrictions against Rosatom.

Earlier that month, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that Budapest would not support any sanctions that would limit its nuclear cooperation with Russia, adding that Rosatom was one of the world's leading nuclear energy companies and sanctions against it could threaten global nuclear security. France and Bulgaria are also reportedly blocking the introduction of restrictive measures against the Russian nuclear giant.

On Monday, the European Commission confirmed it had sent the proposal on the 11th package of Russia sanctions to EU members, with the discussion within the EU's Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) set for May 10. Von der Leyen specified that the new package will focus on countering circumvention of existing measures.