EU Response to New Sanctions to Depend on US Actions – European Commission

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European Union flags in front of the European Commission headquarters in Brussels. (File) - Sputnik International
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The European Union will respond to the expansion of US sanctions against Russia on a case-by-case basis as the bloc needs to see how the restrictive measures would be implemented, European Commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva said Thursday.

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) — On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump signed into law the measure that presupposes sweeping sanctions on Russia and other countries. The legislation targets Russian defense, intelligence, mining, shipping and railway industries and restricts dealings with country’s banks and energy companies.

"We will need to look how [the US law] is implemented that means there is a clear commitment to consult allies, so that happens on a case by case basis whenever sanctions are to be imposed. It gives us the opportunity to look at whether any European project or a project with a European participation might be affected," Andreeva said at the press briefing, while answering the question on the EU response to the sanctions.

The spokeswoman noted that it was still unclear whether the European Union’s projects, including in the sphere of energy, where the bloc has a number of projects with Russia, most notably Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline, would in fact be affected by the US restrictive measures,

"There is no such decision to impose any sanctions right now on a project, where there could be a European participation or which could impact European energy diversification," Andreeva added.

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The new US restrictions have prompted criticism of the European authorities, who said that the sanctions concerned the EU security interests. In July, Berlin and Vienna issued a joint statement condemning the legislation, which they regarded as illegal. Germany and Austria also said that the sanctions target EU companies involved in the bloc's energy supplies.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday that with the adoption of the law targeting Moscow, Washington declared a fully-fledged trade war on Russia.

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