Ukraine has suspended Raiffeisen Bank as an international sponsor of war
NAPC suspended the status of an international sponsor of the war for the Austrian Raiffeisen Bank for the period of bilateral consultations with the involvement of representatives of the European Commission, according to the agency's website. Earlier, Austria threatened to block the adoption of the 12th EU sanctions against Russia until their financial structure is excluded from the list of international sponsors of war.
This list, compiled by the NACC, shows which international companies continue to business in Russia and support the war, for example, by paying taxes to the Russian budget, as Reuters writes. The list is not valid, but the companies included in it may be under pressure from the public. Raiffeisen Bank has already reported that it intends to leave Russia, but it has not happened yet. The Austrian Bank was included in the NAPC list in March this year.
According to Reuters, in October, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Shalllenberg criticized this list. Austria sought to exclude its bank from the NAPC list in exchange for the approval of the next package of sanctions against Russia. Based on the NAPC message, Ukraine has made concessions to Austria. We remind that on December 15, EU countries agreed a new package of sanctions against Russia.
On January 1, 2024, a gradual ban on the import of diamonds from the Russian Federation should take effect. Also, according to DW, a new EU sanitation package requires European companies to provide evidence that they adhere to the so -called "ceiling of prices" for oil from Russia. Also, within the framework of the new package, they plan to impose trade restrictions on other goods from the Russian Federation. We remind that Austria can slow down the beginning of Ukraine's accession to the EU.
In the EU, decisions should continue to be made on the principle of "unanimity", said the head of the Austrian government, Kari Nesammer. He also noted that he has certain issues about the increase in expenditures by 67 billion euros. We also remind you that in September, Austria stated that it did not intend to give up gas from Russia. According to Prime Minister Carl Nezammer, the system of energy supply, production and energy supply of household consumers will be broken without Russian fuel.