Brussels – The European Union’s sixteenth sanctions package against Russia has been assessed to block financial resources valued at least EUR 228 billion.

Commissioner for Financial Services, Maria Luís Albuquerque, reported this figure in response to a parliamentary inquiry from the European People's Party (EPP).

This substantial sum pertains exclusively to the financial sector.

Albuquerque noted that the measures, approved at the end of February, encompass approximately EUR 28 billion in private assets that have been frozen across the EU due to individual sanctions, alongside over EUR 200 billion in assets belonging to the Russian Central Bank immobilized under broader sectoral sanctions.

It is important to clarify that this EUR 228 billion figure represents only a fraction of the numerous sanctions packages imposed by the EU and does not encompass the entirety or latest measures in effect.

In addition to the sixteenth package, a subsequent sanctions package was introduced on May 20, and the European Commission is currently in the process of developing an eighteenth sanctions package, details of which remain undisclosed.

Anitta Hipper, spokesperson for the EU’s High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, stated that there is no predetermined timeline for finalizing this new set of restrictions.

Hipper emphasized a desire for the forthcoming measures to be robust and garner support from all EU member states before being presented to the Council.

The Commission is actively engaged in discussions and anticipates rolling out additional restrictive measures in due course.

Initial discussions regarding potential future sanctions have suggested that the EU executive might consider imposing further restrictions on the Nord Stream gas pipeline, which connects Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea, as well as additional limitations targeting the Russian banking sector and a possible adjustment to the price ceiling for crude oil.