On Monday, Brussels proposed an 11th round of sanctions over Russia’s ongoing war on Ukraine. The proposed package aims to cut down on evasion, ensure the effectiveness of the sanctions, and prevent sanctions from being circumvented.

EU ambassadors will meet on Wednesday to discuss the proposals. As part of the package, the EU has recommended halting exports of sensitive technologies to eight Chinese companies over suspicions they were selling them on to Russia.

The EU has imposed a significant range of sanctions against Moscow since Russian President Vladimir Putin began the war on Ukraine in February 2022.

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However, some European diplomats admit that the bloc has come close to reaching the limit on broad measures that all EU countries are willing to agree on. As such, Brussels is now looking to close the loopholes in the sanctions already in place.

The EU wants to crack down on the re-exportation of sensitive technology to Russia via third countries such as microchips that can be used on the battlefield.

Some countries such as Turkey, the UAE, and ex-Soviet states in the Caucasus and Central Asia have seen a considerable increase in sanctioned goods they import.

Companies in Armenia, Iran, Uzbekistan, and the United Arab Emirates are also on the list of those to which the commission is proposing restricting exports.

As part of the new proposals, the EU is looking to streamline its cumbersome procedure for going after countries involved in circumvention.

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It is pushing to establish a mechanism that could allow it to restrict the export of certain goods to third countries suspected of serving as conduits to Russia.

With the ongoing war in Ukraine and the increasing complexity of sanctions, the EU hopes that these new measures will help prevent evasion and ensure that the sanctions are effective.