© AP
The EU Council did not agree to new Russian sanctions on Tuesday. However, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said an extended 'black list' will be published on Thursday. It will include the
energy, and defense sectors, and financial markets.
At the moment there is not a complete list of Russian companies or people that will fall under the new EU sanctions, Ashton said.
Last week, before Malaysia flight MH17
crashed,
Europe declined to follow the US move and expand sanctions. Prior to the crash, media reported the EU
planned to stop Russian loans from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
Suspending lending from these institutions would cut off substantial funding from Russia,
as it's the biggest recipients of the London-based EBRD. Last year Moscow received $2.5 billion (1.8 billion euro) in investments from the EBRD and $1.4 billion (1 billion euro) from the EIB.
Russia used the money to finance a variety of projects: from pipeline valves, property purchases, and a loan to a hypermarket chain. There are two Russian projects currently awaiting funding from the EBRD, one a 300 million euro plan to promote energy efficiency, and the other a $180 million loan to lease agricultural and forestry equipment.
The EBRD invests about 9 billion euro annually across Europe, Central Asia and North Africa, and is more than 50 percent owned by the G7 nations. The US has a 10 percent stake in the institution, and Russia has 4.05 percent. The bank has a total of 64 shareholders.
The second round of EU sanctions targeted specific individuals and companies, a follow up to the first round of asset and travel bans.
Comment: The intellectual deficits of mainstream reporters are disturbing. This guy pulls every trick out of the propagandist's playbook. What a disgrace to humanity.