Russians will be left without resort charters: new aviation sanctions included in the 14th EU package

The 14th package of sanctions against Russia agreed by the European Union (EU) member states will include a ban on any private and charter flights in favor of Russians or companies from the Russian Federation. In particular, the sanctions will apply to resort charters.

This was reported by EUobserver. "The ban will apply to any flights for which a Russian legal entity or individual has the right to determine the place of takeoff and landing," the publication notes, citing a relevant document of the European Commission.

The measure is intended, in particular, to stop mass flights of Russians to resorts. To do this, Russian companies order charter flights from European carriers to circumvent the existing bans.

So far, the EU restrictions apply only to scheduled airline flights. The EU imposed this ban in February 2022, immediately after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. However, this did not prevent European airlines from operating charter or private flights commissioned by Russians, including within the EU.

The new 14th package of sanctions against Russia has already been approved by the permanent representatives of the EU member states. In addition to the charter ban, it includes:

• restrictions on imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), other resources and mining machinery;
• restrictions on financing of political parties and non-governmental organizations;
• measures against 11 cargo ships;
• disconnection of Russia from its own SWIFT analog;
• expansion of sanctions lists of individuals and legal entities;
• a list of more than 50 companies outside the EU that are subject to trade restrictions due to their assistance to Russia in circumventing sanctions.

OBOZ.UA also reported on the disputes that arose between the countries over the approval of sanctions. Earlier, the clause prohibiting subsidiaries of European companies from re-exporting LNG to Russia and for use in Russia was removed from the package, but Berlin continued to delay the adoption of sanctions.

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