BRUSSELS (NYTIMES) - A new round of proposed European Union sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine targets more than a dozen people and seeks to ban the export of European luxury goods exceeding a certain price from the bloc to Russia, according to draft documents reviewed by The New York Times and two European diplomats familiar with the proposal.
Among those targeted is Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, owner of England's Chelsea Football Club, who was sanctioned last week in Britain, where he lives.
Sanctions from the EU were expected, given that most measures against Russian individuals and businesses taken by the United States, Britain and the EU have been highly coordinated.
The British government's order applied to all of Mr Abramovich's businesses, properties and holdings, but its most consequential effect hit Chelsea, the reigning European football champion.
The Russian oligarch's plans to sell the team are on hold; the club was forbidden from selling tickets or merchandise, lest any of the money feed back to its owner; and the team was prohibited - for the moment - from acquiring or selling players.
The ban on exporting luxury goods from Europe to Russia has been debated for some time.
If implemented, it would hit France and Italy hardest, since their iconic luxury brands are very popular among Russian elites.
EU ambassadors will meet Monday to finalise the sanctions list.
One of the outstanding issues will be what luxury goods could still be exported.
The European Commission, the bloc's executive, has proposed a ban on all items that cost more than €300 (S$450).
Other major items on the new sanctions list will probably include Russian iron and steel exports.
After the ambassadors of the 27 member states meet and finalise the sanctions list, national governments will need to approve them by e-mail, a formality, before they can be published as law in the EU official journal.
The sanctions come on top of a vast set of penalties already crippling the Russian economy, which range from freezing the assets of President Vladimir Putin to forbidding European financial institutions from transacting with Russia's central bank.
The bloc has said it will continue applying pressure on Mr Putin to stop the war in Ukraine, causing the Russian economy to contract dramatically.
But as these measures also hurt European economies, the bloc has so far excluded the idea of sanctioning Russian oil and gas, on which it heavily depends for heating, energy production and industry.
