Overview
- EU ambassadors reached political agreement and the Council adopted the package on July 23, setting in motion publication of legal acts and technical steps to put the measures into force.
- The package adds 218 listings — 48 individuals and 170 entities — making it the bloc’s largest round of new listings in four years and expanding export controls on military‑industrial goods.
- Financial measures impose asset freezes and a prohibition to make funds available to 94 banks and extend transaction bans to dozens more, including 32 banks facing SWIFT limits.
- The package widens crypto controls by listing 14 crypto platforms and creating a tool to ban crypto‑asset services in third countries that help Russia evade sanctions.
- Negotiations produced concessions to win unanimity: Greece secured exemptions for some pre‑existing LNG contracts, several proposed bans (including on Russian fish and Patriarch Kirill) were dropped or watered down, and enforcement of evasion routes is now a key follow‑up priority.