Gintarė Skaistė: Sanctions Against Russia and Belarus Should be Expanded

Looking at the war crimes Russia has committed in Ukraine, I think we should broaden the sanctions and take it to another level to make the pressure on Russia bigger. And I think we should work and form main work streams. I think we should cut Russia from its main revenue sources: its energy sector. And I think we should cut buying from Russia: in oil, gas and coal. And Lithuania is the first country in the European Union to say goodbye to Russian gas, and we refused to buy gas from Russia already. And I think we are showing a good example to all the European countries: that it is possible. And I think we should also talk about the Russian financial system, and cutting the biggest Russian banks from SWIFT. I'm talking about Sberbank and Gazprombank. And another, further why that we should act is closing ports and roads for Russian goods. And the forth one, I think we should talk about international financial institutions like the IMF and World Bank and suspend Russian presence there. I think that what we're doing today will be the history of tomorrow and we must show solidarity with Ukrainian people. And also I think that we should talk about another instrument for funding refugees presence in host countries, because the impact is asymmetrical and the countries bordering with Ukraine and Belarus are having much more refugees than the other countries. And the money that we have to put towards that issue is much bigger than our colleagues in the southern part. So we are asking for solidarity from the other member states. Thank you. (Are you disappointed that the rest of the EU has not followed in your footsteps by cutting off Russian gas?) We are expecting to broaden the sanctions in this field. Lithuania has prepared for this step far ahead, because in 2014 when it was the Crimea situation, we understood that this is not the last step for Russia. And we decided to put much more energy in our energy independence, and I think now we are at the point where we can say that we don't use it anymore and we are urging other member states to do the same. (Question regarding member states with higher dependency on Russian gas) I think they should make a plan how to say goodbye to Russian gas and how to get the gas from the other parts of the world. I think it is possible. Thank you. #eudebates the unique initiative aiming to promote debate, dialogue, knowledge, participation and communication among citizens. #Ruble #Russia #RussianWar #Economy #Currency #Putin #Rubles #Lithuania #banks #SWIFT EU Finance and Economy Ministers meet on 5 April 2022 in Brussels. The meeting is chaired by Bruno LE MAIRE, Minister of Economy and Finance of France. The meeting opens as the Ukrainian Finance Minister, Sergii Marchenko, addresses the council. Ministers then discuss the economic and financial consequences of the sanctions imposed on Russia after its military aggression against Ukraine. The Council then picks up last June’s discussion on the strengthening of the European financial architecture for development (EFAD), taking as its central focus the actions taken in response to the invasion of Ukraine. Furthermore, Minsters affirm their positions before the upcoming meetings of the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors, and the IMF spring meeting. Ministers debate the proposal to adopt the OECD agreed level of global minimum tax on multinational corporations. Finally, Ministers then attempt to bring their discussions on EU strategic autonomy as it relates to financial and economic issues to a conclusion. The meeting ends as the Council are brought up-to-date on current legislative proposals in the field of financial services.