EU to present new Russia sanctions package, Ukraine funding measures by year-end

DUBLIN, Nov 12 - The European Commission will present a new sanctions package against Russia and proposals on Ukraine-related financial measures before the next European Council, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday.

"We are ... preparing a proposal (on) how to cover the financial needs of Ukraine in 2027. We will come with the sanctions package and the proposal for the financial needs before the next European Council," she said ahead of a meeting with international leaders in Dublin.

The next European Council is a special summit on November 26-27.

The package will be the EU's 22nd against Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly five years ago. The Commission is still debating the final details.

Among the measures, the package is expected to include new restrictions on banks, cryptocurrencies and crypto platforms, and measures to close circumvention loopholes through third countries, EU diplomats said. The package may also include a ban on Belarusian and Russian athletes  competing in international meets in the EU, the diplomats said.

"The athletes is important because for a dictator like Putin ... he doesn't care about the lives lost on the battlefield, but he really cares about these big sports events where he can show that the country is big and powerful and accepted the same way as everybody else," Kaja Kallas told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of a Group of Seven nations meeting this week.

Kallas added that discussions were ongoing about potential visa restrictions on Russian ex-combatants. REUTERS