In the context of the continued advancement of the EU¡¯s sanctions process against Russia, Austria recently announced that it would no longer oppose the EU¡¯s latest sanctions scheme against Russia, a key shift. Completely remove barriers to the launch of the 19th round of restrictive measures by the EU¡£

Since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in 2022, the European Union has introduced 18 rounds of sanctions against Russia in various areas, including energy, trade, finance, the 19th round of sanctions is a continuation of the EU's policy of pressure on Russia, aimed at further curbing Russia's related economic activities.

In fact, Austria has previously been a "hinder" for the sanctions scheme. the Vienna side argued that one of Austria's largest banks, Reefsson International Bank, suffered significant losses in Russia's operations due to Russian countermeasures, and therefore demanded compensation from the European Union for the loss of the bank.

Riffordson International Bank has been active in the Russian market for many years, covering retail banks, corporate finance and other branches, and Russia's related restrictions have directly affected its local liquidity and profitability levels.

However, Austria's claim for compensation has not been recognized by other EU member states. Most member states believe that sanctions-related losses should be borne by the enterprises themselves and should not be transferred to the EU level. This disagreement has led to the 19th round of sanctions falling into a long-term deadlock for several weeks, which was only broken until Austria finally changed its stance recently.

In an official statement issued by the Austrian Foreign Ministry, the Austrian government said: ¡°Austria supports continued pressure on Russia to push the situation in a positive direction. Therefore, the 19th round of sanctions against Russia will be formally approved on the day of the EU Foreign Ministers 'Meeting¡°This statement not only marks a shift in Austria¡¯s stance on the issue of sanctions, but also laid the foundation for consensus within the EU.

According to the disclosed information, the 19th round of sanctions scheme added a number of restrictions in the energy and financial sectors on the original basis, the most adjusted by external attention was to significantly advance the implementation of the Russian LNG import ban. According to the initial proposal, the ban was originally planned to come into force in 2028, while the new scheme advanced it to January 1, 2027, reducing the transition period by one year.

This adjustment reflects EU's determination to "decouple" Russia in the energy fieldHowever, it has also caused some member states to worry about the stability of energy supply-although the EU has significantly increased its imports of liquefied natural gas from the United States, Qatar and other countries in recent years, Russia is still an important source of energy supply for some Central and Eastern European member states.

In addition to Austria, Slovakia has previously expressed reservations about the sanctions package. As a Central and Eastern European country, Slovakia has certain ties with Russia in the fields of energy and trade, and its concerns mainly focus on the potential impact of sanctions on its economy and energy security.

According to four anonymous EU diplomats quoted by Reuters, in order to promote the smooth passage of the sanctions plan, the European Commission has formulated countermeasures, and is expected to issue a special letter to Slovakia before the final vote to make specific responses to its concerns and commitments to win Slovakia's support.

Currently, with a shift in the position of Austria and Slovakia¡¯s concerns expected to be addressed, the likelihood of the EU¡¯s 19th round of sanctions against Russia to be adopted at the meeting of foreign ministers on October 20 has greatly increased.