Italy and France are cautiously approaching the European Commission's proposal to ban entry to the European Union for Russian military personnel involved in the war against Ukraine. This was reported by Bloomberg citing sources.
This measure is part of the 21st sanctions package against Russia presented by the European Commission on June 9. EU member states are expected to discuss the proposed restrictions on Friday.
According to sources from Bloomberg, Paris and Rome do not oppose the ban on entry for Russian military personnel as such. However, they are concerned that in its current form, the document could lead to the restrictions being applied to virtually all citizens of Russia.
Both countries also point out that if the ban is adopted, it will be up to EU member states to determine whether a specific Russian citizen participated in the war against Ukraine. In their opinion, this will be extremely difficult to do in practice.
The new sanctions package also includes additional restrictions against the Russian energy sector, the so-called "shadow fleet," financial and cryptocurrency services, the banking sector, and fishing. Furthermore, it is planned to tighten trade restrictions with Russia.
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