Draft new EU sanctions update more cautious on hitting China - document

The latest draft proposal for new European Union sanctions over Russia's war in Ukraine says "alternative measures" should be considered before the bloc restricts trade with any third country for busting existing sanctions, a document showed.

The latest draft proposal for new European Union sanctions over Russia's war in Ukraine says "alternative measures" should be considered before the bloc restricts trade with any third country for busting existing sanctions, a document showed. The EU is working on what would be its 11th round of sanctions since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year, this time focused on cracking down on those breaking trade restrictions already in place.

To achieve that, the EU's executive European Commission proposed for the first time a new tool to curb trade with third countries deemed involved in bypassing sanctions. During a first discussion on the proposal among the 27 EU countries last week, Germany warned against any possible future restrictions in trade with China.

The document, which was seen by Reuters, is an updated proposal by the Commission, which the 27 EU member states' envoys to Brussels discuss again on Tuesday. Compared with the original proposal, it would make sanctioning third countries more difficult after a new claue was added saying that before making any such proposal, "alternative measures" should be considered, such as individual listings.

The necessary approval by all the 27 EU countries is not expected until after the G7 summit of the world's most industrialised countries in Hiroshima this Friday and Saturday. The proposal includes dozens of Russian companies and individuals to be blacklisted.

In a first, it includes eight companies in China, as well as eight in Iran, two in Uzbekistan and one each in Syria, Armenia and the United Arab Emirates.