EU Commission targets China, India in proposed 19th sanctions package

The European Commission has submitted the 19th package of sanctions against Russia for approval by member states.As EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas declared, “any source of income for the Kremlin to continue its aggression is a target”.

She announced that the EU executive proposes a full transaction ban on Russian banks and financial institutions, including those operating in third countries, adding large economic operators involved in the circumvention of sanctions, revenue generation and support for the Russian military industry, as well as the Russian credit card system and fast payments system.

The Commission is also proposing a ban on investments in Russian Special Economic Zones linked to the war and further measures on Chinese actors supporting Russia’s military industry.

Russia’s primary source of income to finance its illegal war being energy exports, the Commission proposes:

a full prohibition of Russian LNG imports by January 2027
lifting remaining exemptions on Rosneft and Gazprom Neft
and expanding sanctions on Russia’s shadow fleet and its enablers, including 118 new vessels.

Lifting the remaining exemptions on Rosneft and Gazprom Neft in the EU’s proposed 19th sanctions package would impose a full transaction ban on these Russian oil giants, disproportionately affecting member states like Hungary and Slovakia that still rely heavily on Russian crude oil imports via the Druzhba pipeline, potentially forcing them to seek costlier alternatives or secure new exemptions to avoid energy supply disruptions.

Kallas said these new sanctions would also squeeze Russia’s access to technologies including AI and geospatial data, as well as critical resources that feed weapons production. This includes those received from foreign suppliers including China and India.

In his open letter to NATO allies of 13 September, U.S. President Donald Trump urged the imposition of sanctions on China and India to curb their purchases of Russian oil and weaken Moscow’s war funding. The Commission proposals appears to partially addresses this call by targeting additional entities in those countries for supplying dual-use goods and facilitating sanctions evasion.

Regarding the abducted Ukrainian children by Russia, the Commission proposes sanctions on individuals and organisations involved in their abduction and indoctrination.

The 19th sanctions package now awaits approval from member states, with Hungary and possibly Slovakia likely to attempt to obstruct its adoption.

Von der Leyen previously confirmed that the EU would seek to bring forward the 2027 deadline for ending Russian fossil fuel imports following a call with Trump. The previous sanctions package, adopted on 18 July, was described as the toughest so far, lowering the price cap for seaborne Russian oil to $47.60 a barrel and blacklisting over 100 ships from Russia’s “shadow fleet.”

Frozen assets and the reparations loan

Parallel to the sanctions debate, EU finance ministers are discussing how to turn frozen Russian assets into support for Kyiv. Economic Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told reporters in Copenhagen, according to Reuters, that the Commission was working on a “reparations loan” backed by cash balances from frozen Russian assets.

Of the roughly €194 billion in securities held in Belgium’s Euroclear, around €170 billion have matured into cash since the freeze in 2022. Under the current plan, Ukraine would only repay the loan once it receives reparations from Russia. But several governments, including Belgium, voiced scepticism over the risks, insisting that burden-sharing must be guaranteed. Spain’s Finance Minister Carlos Cuerpo said he expected a formal proposal in October and pledged support.

The approach remains politically delicate, not least because it could trigger disputes once EU sanctions are lifted and Russia seeks to reclaim its assets.

Gas imports expose lingering dependence

Even as Brussels works to harden sanctions, eight EU countries continue to import Russian gas, a Commission spokesperson confirmed this week. Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Slovakia and Hungary remain dependent, either through pipelines or LNG terminals.

Slovakia, Hungary and Greece continue to receive deliveries via the TurkStream pipeline, underlining the uneven progress among EU members in phasing out Russian energy. While oil imports have been banned with limited exemptions, gas remains a sensitive political and economic fault line.

Rubio – Lavrov meeting

Adding to the geopolitical backdrop, Russia’s UN envoy Vasily Nebenzya announced that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will hold a meeting during the 80th UN General Assembly in New York.

It would be the first official ministerial-level meeting between Washington and Moscow since 2021, and follows last month’s encounter between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska.

The prospect of renewed dialogue contrasts sharply with the EU’s escalating sanctions debate and raises questions about whether Washington and Moscow may carve out direct communication channels while Europe struggles to maintain unity.

Sources: Commission press releases, BGNES, Reuters, European Pravda, edited by g.g.

Caption: EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas speaks during a press conference with Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira (not pictured) at the Itamaraty Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, 19 September 2025. The visit focuses on the relaunch of the EU-Brazil strategic partnership and the adoption of the EU-Mercosur agreement. EPA/ANDRE BORGES