Brussels - The European Commission is drawing up proposals for fresh sanctions on Russia over the Ukrainian situation on the European Council's orders, European Commission spokesperson Pia Hansen said at a press briefing in Brussels on Sept. 1.
She said the European Commission had already started working on the proposals and they would be ready in a week, as requested in a statement by the European Council’s special meeting.
She found it difficult to go into detail and declined to say which sectors the new sanctions would relate to and what their levels might be.
The European Commission spokesperson said member states were to make a decision in due time but added it was hard to tell when exactly that might happen.
The EC will honor its obligation to hand over the proposals concerning the new restrictive measures to the Council, she said without elaborating on the nature of these measures.
The latest, third-tier measures will be deepened, more details will follow once the decision has been made, Hansen said.
The European Union is seeking a political solution to this crisis. These measures are a response to the escalation and to the absence of a solution, and facilitate the resolution of this crisis, the EC spokeswoman said.
These are very important decisions which have economic consequences, she said. This work is very serious and profound, but we are acting fast and the Commission will submit proposals by Sept. 6, she said.
