The EU Foreign Affairs Council, which is attended by 27 foreign ministers, met in Brussels on April 19. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and EC Vice-President Josep Borrell told the media that Russia has deployed 150,000 troops on the border with Ukraine, the largest Russian military deployment in the region. After the meeting, the EU also announced sanctions against 2 companies and 10 individuals in connection with the Burmese junta’s crackdown on popular anti-coup demonstrations.
On the current tense situation in eastern Ukraine, Borrelli told reporters, “It’s a build-up of more than 150,000 Russian troops on the Ukrainian border and in Crimea. The risk of further escalation is clear.” But he declined to reveal the source of that figure. Borrelli said that despite saying the Russian military buildup on the Ukrainian border is the largest ever, the EU has no plans for the time being to impose new economic sanctions on the Russian side or expel its diplomats. For his part, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who attended the day’s meeting, called on the EU to impose new sanctions on Russia. Separately, on the news that Russian opposition leader Alexeï Navalny, who is being held by Putin’s authorities, is in critical condition in prison, Borrelli tweeted on 18 June that he was “deeply concerned about Navalny’s deteriorating health. Russian authorities must give him immediate access to medical professionals he trusts. We hold them responsible for ensuring his safety and health.” He reiterated that “the EU continues to demand the immediate and unconditional release of Mr. Navalny.”
Separately, the EU decided to sanction 10 individuals and two companies controlled by the military, namely Myanmar Economic Holdings Public Company Limited (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation Limited (MEC), according to the Myanmar junta’s bloody crackdown on anti-coup demonstrators in the country. The EU said through a statement that “the individuals targeted by the sanctions are all responsible for undermining democracy and the rule of law, repressive decisions and serious human rights violations in Myanmar. The two sanctioned entities are large conglomerates operating in many sectors of the Burmese economy and are owned and controlled by, and provide revenue to, the Burmese military. The sanctions adopted specifically target the economic interests of the Burmese military regime, which is responsible for the overthrow of Burma’s democratically elected government. The sanctions are designed to avoid undue harm to the people of Burma.”
The statement said, “Today’s decision demonstrates the EU’s unity and determination to condemn the junta’s brutal actions with the aim of changing the junta’s leadership. Today’s decision also sends a clear message to the military leadership that continuing on the current path will only bring more suffering and will never gain any legitimacy. The restrictive measures now apply to a total of 35 individuals and two companies and include a travel ban and asset freeze. In addition, EU citizens and companies are banned from providing funds to listed individuals and entities.” The statement also said that “pre-existing EU restrictive measures also remain in place. These include an embargo on arms and equipment that could be used for internal repression, a ban on the export of dual-use items for use by the military and border police, restrictions on the export of communications monitoring equipment that could be used for internal repression, and a ban on military training for and military cooperation with the Tatmadaw.”
The statement continued, “The EU’s restrictive measures also include withholding financial assistance provided directly to the government and freezing all assistance to government agencies that could be seen as legitimizing the junta.” The statement stressed that “the EU remains a strong supporter of the people of Myanmar and the country’s democratic transition. As a concrete expression of this support, the European Commission recently allocated an additional 9 million euros in emergency humanitarian aid to help those in need. Since 1994, the EU has provided 287 million euros in humanitarian aid to Myanmar, with 20.5 million euros to be allocated so far in 2021. The EU works with trusted and independent humanitarian partners to address the protection, food, nutrition and health needs of the most vulnerable people, particularly in Rakhine, Chin, Kachin and Shan States.”
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