The ban on European companies operating outside of Russia to connect directly to the Russian Financial Messaging System (SPFS) , with which Russia counters the ban on certain banks using the Western SWIFT system, will be part of the 14th round of EU sanctions, the Bloomberg agency reported.
"Sanctions will include banning EU firms operating outside Russia from connecting directly to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation's SPFS system, equivalent to SWIFT, and will also prohibit any transactions with companies in the black list that use this system to circumvent sanctions”, the agency notes.
In addition, the EU promises to introduce strict export controls on supplies of manganese ore, plastics, electronics, excavators and other equipment that could be used for military purposes. The sanctions also promise checks on European companies whose products end up in Russia.
On June 20, EU ambassadors agreed on the 14th package of sanctions against Russia, which includes a ban on the transit of Russian LNG through EU ports . It must now be adopted by the EU Council at ministerial level, after which it will be published and come into force. The European Commission is seeking to symbolically bring it into force before the start of negotiations on the admission of Ukraine and Moldova to the EU, scheduled for June 25.