Why the delay to the EU’s next package of Russia sanctions?

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Good morning. Portugal’s political crisis has spread to its central bank: Its head is facing an ethics review after being proposed as prime minister by outgoing premier António Costa, who stepped down last week in response to a corruption scandal.

Today, I ask why the next EU sanctions package — designed mainly to plug holes in existing restrictions — will not be discussed by ministers today, as previously promised.

And Laura reports on a weekend of rage on Europe’s streets.

Undelivered package

EU foreign ministers will gather in Brussels this morning to discuss, among other issues, how to maintain support for Ukraine and pressure on Russia. What they won’t discuss, to the bewilderment of many of them, is a new package of sanctions against Moscow.

Context: The EU last agreed new sanctions against Russia in June, its 11th package since February 2022. Kyiv has regularly called for new measures, specifically targeting Russian diamond exports and Moscow’s sovereign assets frozen in the west, but Brussels has dragged its heels.

The need is pressing. The price cap on Russian crude oil is leaking, and as the FT reported this weekend, a covert Russian-led operation has found ways to evade EU export controls on importing microchips into Russia.

So it was with relief that Ukraine’s parliament heard Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission president, say in her speech to the chamber on November 4: “Next week, we are announcing our 12th package of sanctions against Russia.”

No such package was announced last week.

“There will not be a concrete specific proposal on the table,” said one person who will be in the meetings today. “We’re still waiting for the commission’s proposals,” said a second.

Commission officials are evasive about the reasons for the delay. Some cite complications over the diamond import ban (which Josep Borrell, the EU’s chief diplomat, also said last week would be presented to the ministers), others blame pressure from member states to include or remove certain measures.

“Negotiations on preparing sanctions can take a bit longer than expected,” Eric Mamer, chief commission spokesman, told reporters on Friday when asked about the reason why von der Leyen’s statement was not honoured.

“We hope to be able to present this very soon,” he added. “You can interpret ‘very soon’ as you see fit.”

The delay has not gone down well in Kyiv. Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, will probably refer to the sanctions in his remarks at the meeting today.

Should the package come later this week, it would be first taken up by member-state ambassadors. That would leave less than four weeks of argument before the last foreign affairs council of the year. “Very soon” can’t come soon enough.

Chart du jour: Shaky foundations

Despite Germany’s lack of suitable homes, builders in the country are facing a “perfect storm” of expensive raw materials and increased borrowing costs, leading to many building projects being cancelled. This could have wider implications for the EU’s largest economy.

Democracy in action

Hundreds of thousands of citizens were drawn on to the streets of Europe this weekend for several causes, with marches regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict in particular exposing splits among the population, writes Laura Dubois.

Context: European countries were swept by demonstrations calling for an end to the war in Gaza, criticising inaction on climate change and protesting national causes.

In Brussels, some 21,000 people protested on Saturday against the bombing in Gaza, according to police, with many calling for a ceasefire.

At the same time, some 300,000 joined a pro-Palestine demonstration in London. The Metropolitan Police arrested 145 people at the march and counterdemonstrations, with tensions running high as the protests coincided with celebrations of the armistice that ended the first world war.

On Sunday, more than 100,000 people protested against antisemitism in France, joined by politicians including Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne and far-right leader Marine Le Pen. President Emmanuel Macron said he supported the march but did not attend.

Radical leftwing opposition leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon criticised the event, saying it had contributed to “whitewashing the extreme right”.

Amsterdam had one of its biggest climate protests, according to organisers who estimated a crowd of around 85,000 protesters. The Israel-Hamas conflict also featured.

A speech by the Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg — who had brought a Palestinian activist on stage — was interrupted by a protester who said he came for “a climate protest, not a political view,” videos shared online showed. Thunberg retorted by chanting: “No climate justice on occupied land.”

Meanwhile in Spain, tens of thousands of people in 53 cities demonstrated against Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s plan to offer an amnesty to Catalan separatists in order to stay in power.

What to watch today

1. EU foreign affairs ministers meet.

2. European Commission college meets with European Court of Auditors.

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