EU’s next sanctions against Russia ‘will not be last’: German chancellor

By Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) – The European Union’s next sanctions package “will not be the last” targeting those responsible for the war in Ukraine, the German chancellor said on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters in the European Parliament, Strasbourg, Olaf Scholz confirmed that the EU is “already on track always to discuss further improvements of the sanction regimes” against Russia.

“The next will be not the last,” he added, stressing that “this is a constant work.”

Scholz is due to speak later to the European Parliament, marking May 9, Europe Day.

EU ambassadors on Wednesday are set to discuss details of the EU’s 11th sanctions package on Russia after the European Commission presented a draft last week.

The new measures are expected to target other countries' exports to Russia, including seven Chinese companies that sell equipment used by the Russian army.

Since the beginning of Russia’s war against Ukraine some 14 months ago, the EU has imposed 10 sets of sanctions against Russia.

The measures target, among others, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, banning gold, oil and coal imports, and the export of luxury goods and high-tech technology, as well as excluding Russian and Belarusian banks from the SWIFT international payment system.