“At the moment, an 11th package is being discussed and we are waiting for the Commission's proposals, but we know that they will be very focused on trying to avoid evading existing sanctions“, said the Secretary of State for European Affairs, Tiago Antunes who called for "more effective" sanctions from the European Union (EU) to Russia for the invasion of Ukraine.

In an interview with Lusa regarding the celebration of Europe Day, an event marked this Tuesday, the official declined to comment on the advanced news regarding possible restrictive measures for Chinese companies close to Russian oligarchs. He argues, however, that “the next package [of sanctions] is very centered on this idea of the effectiveness of sanctions and avoiding sanction evasion mechanisms”.

“This is very important because, naturally, those who are covered by these sanctions try to find all possible ways to get around them. Therefore, the EU must regularly remain vigilant, through which, namely the oligarchs, explore the possibility of escaping the sanctions regimes in force”.

For Tiago Antunes, "it is very important that this is adopted and this includes important partners of Russian oligarchs".

In addition, the official points out that the 10 packages of sanctions in force "are quite robust and quite powerful and have, in fact, limited Russia's capacity to carry out and intensify its war effort". Further, he reiterates: "It has had an effective impact on limiting Russia's offensive power."