“After the holidays”: The EU will return to discussions on the 20th sanctions package against Russia in January.

The European Union may adopt the 20th package of sanctions against Russia as early as January 2025, but active negotiations will only begin after the New Year holidays.

Politico reports this.

According to the publication, the issue of a new package of restrictions is not currently a priority for Brussels.

“It’s not a priority right now,” said one European official.

Another diplomat clarified that the European Commission plans to move on to discussions on possible sanctions proposals in January.

“The European Commission will begin discussing ideas for new sanctions after the holidays.”

Informal discussions are currently ongoing within the preparatory structures regarding potential targets for the future package—primarily potential sanctions lists. Sources note that this is standard preparatory work that has not yet reached the level of EU ambassadors. This means that the official inter-institutional process has not yet begun.

According to Politico , a key element of the 20th package will be eliminating existing gaps in the sanctions regime.

In particular, a new investigation by the European Security Council for Ukraine (ESCU) has revealed significant loopholes in export controls for natural rubber – a material critical to Russia’s defense industry, particularly for the production of tires for fighter jets, missile launchers, and munitions delivery systems.

As a reminder, approximately 48 million barrels of Russian oil could remain stuck at sea for a long time due to new US sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil.

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