Report: Brussels can fight against new US anti-Russia sanctions

MOSCOW/WASHINGTON, Jul 24 (PRIME) -- The E.U. sees a draft law on new U.S. sanctions against Russia as a unilateral action by Washington, as reported by Reuters on July 22 and can take actions against the measures, according to a report by the Financial Times on July 23.

"We are concerned the measures discussed in the U.S. Congress could have unintended consequences, not only when it comes to Transatlantic/G7 unity, but also on E.U. economic and energy security interests. This impact could be potentially wide and indiscriminate, including when it comes to energy sources diversification efforts,” Reuters reported, quoting a statement by the authority.

The Financial Times reported that Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission president, had urged to consider a possible E.U. retaliation against the scaling up of the U.S. sanctions against Russia on Wednesday.

According to a note cited by the newspaper, Europe “should stand ready to act within days” if the U.S. measures were “adopted without E.U. concerns being taken into account.”

On June 15, the U.S. Senate voted for a bill that introduces a cut in the financing term for sanctioned Russian banks to 14 days and to sanctioned Russian oil and gas companies to 30 days. It also prohibits companies to invest more than U.S. $1 million in a single payment or more than $5 million during the course of a year in construction of Russian export pipelines, as well as provision of goods, services, technologies and informational support for the construction.

The bill has been approved by both chambers of the U.S. parliament and the lower chamber is expected to vote on Tuesday.

According to U.S. documents seen by PRIME, the bill explicitly targets Russia’s Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline project in Europe. It also contains stipulations obliging the U.S. presidential administration to prioritize energy sources supply to Europe.

Spokesman for the Kremlin Dmitry Peskov told PRIME that Moscow has an “extremely negative” attitude to the bill on sanctions.

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