On Tuesday, the European Commission presented a fifth package of sanctions aimed at Russia, including a proposal to ban Russian ships from EU ports.
The proposal must be adopted by all the member states of the European Union (EU). It is also being considered by individuals European governments, including Norway, which has confirmed the Ministry of Trade and Industry is weighing implementing a similar ban.
Speaking on Tuesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the bloc is preparing to impose a ban on Russians hips entering EU ports and on Russian and Belarusian road transport operators. Alongside the restrictions, the sanctions packet would ban EU exports on products worth €10 billion, including seafood and alcohol.
“We all saw the gruesome pictures from Bucha and other areas from which Russian troops have recently left. These atrocities cannot and will not be left unanswered,” von der Leyen stated, as she laid out the fiscal measures being taken against Moscow.
“Norway stands together with the EU and other countries to ensure that the sanctions are strong and effective, and we will also implement this sanctions package. We will now review the proposals from the commission and assess whether there is a need for adjustments when the package is to be incorporated into Norwegian law,” Norway’s Minister of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Bjørnar Skjæran (Labor) said.
Closing European ports was one of the measures Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj requested countries impose against Russia when he addressed the Norwegian legislature last week.
The EU proposal will only allow exemptions for Russia vessels that are delivering necessary goods, such as agriculture and food, humanitarian aid and energy.
SalmonBusiness has written a number of articles covering the controversial transport of fish feed between factories in northern Norway and Russian fish farming companies on the Kola Peninsula. This cargo is operated by the Russian-owned cargo ship “Aleksander Gusev”. The Russian fish farming companies are completely dependent on supplies of fish feed from Norway.
