Like the negotiations on all the previous thirteen “packages” of restrictions against Russia, the work on yet another one promises to be difficult. This is further evidenced by the fact that the European Commission has decided not to make public the set of sanctions proposals that it put forward for discussion by the European capitals.
At this stage, there is little point in speculating on what the "package" will ultimately consist of. At the moment, it looks more like a compilation of "wish lists" on which, as usual, consensus will be difficult to reach. Take LNG, for example - given the high dependence of a number of Member States on its supply, it may take a while to find a common denominator.
The future “package” will be seriously affected by the extraordinary scale of the fight against so-called “Russian disinformation”. I doubt that the European bureaucracy realises the very negative consequences this could have for freedom of speech and democracy in the EU itself. What is presented as sanctions against our country is at the same time turning into an EU tool for manipulating European public opinion.
Another interesting point is that while the EU originally planned to adopt the 14th "package" before the European Parliament elections on 6-9 June 2024, it now seems to be aiming to agree on it by July. This proves once again that the next round of sanctions, like all the previous ones, will have extremely negative consequences for the EU economy, businesses and ordinary citizens. The European bureaucracy clearly sees no interest in making announcements before the EU-wide elections about new difficulties that Europe will inevitably face.
