Marine Le Pen\u2019s potential victory in next year\u2019s French presidential election could leave the bloc deadlocked<\/p>\n
Kiev and Brussels fear the EU\u2019s next package of sanctions against Russia could be its last, with officials rushing to secure its adoption before Marine Le Pen potentially becomes France\u2019s next president, according to The Telegraph.
\nThe right-wing National Rally politician, who opinion polls put in the lead of the race, has strongly criticized Brussels\u2019 approach to Ukraine. She has compared Kiev\u2019s proposed accession to the EU to economic suicide and repeatedly called for suspending all aid to the country.
\nKiev and Brussels are \u201cwargaming contingency measures\u201d in case Le Pen wins the election next April, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. One source described February as possibly the \u201clast opportunity\u201d to adopt new sanctions against Russia.
\nThe EU has imposed 21 rounds of sanctions since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022 and is preparing a 22nd. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday contrasted the bloc\u2019s unwavering stance with that of US President Donald Trump, who has eased restrictions on Russian diesel to alleviate domestic fuel shortages.<\/p>\n
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Some observers, including The Telegraph, count the recent addition of roughly 1,600 Russian individuals and organizations to the EU\u2019s blacklist as the 22nd package.
\nAs the Ukraine conflict has dragged on, Brussels has found it increasingly difficult to identify new Russian targets for sanctions. The latest negotiations reportedly stalled over France\u2019s push to remove billionaire Alisher Usmanov from the EU\u2019s blacklist.
\nThe move was presented in the media as part of a backroom deal to secure the release of convicted French spies in Azerbaijan. Skeptics, however, pointed to Usmanov\u2019s successful legal challenges exposing weaknesses in the EU\u2019s justification for sanctioning him as another major factor.
\nNegotiations over the 21st sanctions package, adopted in July, also faced firm resistance from several member states. Greece secured an exemption allowing Greek shipping company Dynagas to continue transporting LNG from Russia\u2019s Yamal project. Bulgaria prevented the blacklisting of Russian Orthodox Church leader Patriarch Kirill, while Germany and Portugal defended their imports of Russian seafood. Tourist destinations France and Italy, meanwhile, opposed tighter entry restrictions on Russian military personnel.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Trump eyes reopening Europe to Russian gas \u2013 NYT<\/p>\n
The concessions substantially weakened the commission\u2019s original proposal. This happened despite the replacement of former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who supporters of Kiev had frequently portrayed as the principal obstacle to new sanctions during earlier negotiations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Marine Le Pen\u2019s potential victory in next year\u2019s French presidential election could leave the bloc deadlocked Kiev and Brussels fear the EU\u2019s next package of sanctions against Russia could be…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40107,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t