Politico: Brussels wants to restrict activities of special economic zones in Russia

The European Union, as part of its new 19th sanctions package, plans to ban European companies from investing in Russia’s special economic zones, according to a draft proposal.

The document focuses primarily on Russia’s financial networks, energy exports, and covert trade routes, marking another European attempt to deplete Moscow’s military coffers, Politico reports.

Brussels also wants to clamp down on special economic zones in Russia, which offer foreign companies preferential tax treatment to attract investments. Under the proposal, EU firms would be forbidden from investing in those zones, the document reads.

In addition, the proposal includes measures targeting Russian banks and crypto platforms to block sanctions evasion, bans EU firms from dealing with non-EU ports used for military tech trading or G7 oil cap circumvention, and imposes export controls on companies aiding Russia in evading sanctions.

As a symbolic step, the EU executive branch has also proposed banning the provision of “services directly related to tourism activities in Russia.”

By Khagan Isayev