Europe draws from an ever narrower repertoire, over the trains of sanctions against Russia. As the Twenty-Seven prepare to adopt a fifth wave of “restrictive measures”in reaction to the massacres of the Russian army in Boutcha, the Member States purged the Russian representations of their most subversive elements.
Diplomats or spies?
On Tuesday 5 April, Denmark expelled 15 diplomats for ” spying “, Italy 30, for reasons of “national security”, the day after concerted action between Paris and Berlin, which fired 35 and 40 respectively. Lithuania fired its ambassador. This is not the first wave of evictions in five weeks. A week earlier, a first salvo of removals had been recorded in Belgium (21 individuals), the Netherlands (17), and Ireland (4). The Czech Republic gave a diplomat three days to leave. And on March 23, Poland had expelled 45 “Russian spies posing as diplomats”.
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The practice of dismissals of diplomats is classic, in the event of tense relations between two countries. This time, it stands out for its coordinated nature between Europeans, including with other sanctions, all associated with accusations of activities that do not comply with international law. In principle, diplomats must respect the rules of non-interference and non-interference, and stick to missions of representation and observation. But in reality, no one is fooled. “There is a form of tolerance in diplomatic relations, where each party agrees that we can watch each other a little. Under cover of cultural action in particular, we know that such a representation engages, if not in espionage or intelligence, in borderline activities, that is to say in subversive diplomacy. In the Russian case, it has become untenable,” underlines Charles Tenenbaum, specialist in international mediation and conflict resolution at Sciences Po Lille.
Imminent sanctions
A European embargo on Russian coal (45% of EU imports) is due to fall this week, provided the brakes are lifted in Germany, Austria and Hungary. This measure requires the unanimity of the Council. Germany’s economy minister, environmentalist Robert Habeck, recently said his country will be rid of its Russian coal needs by the end of the summer, making the measure with a self-timer. It would be the first time that the energy sector is directly targeted by the EU, even if Poland and the Baltic countries are targeting all hydrocarbons. France also wants to go further. The head of diplomacy, Jean-Yves Le Drian, came to Berlin on Tuesday to say that the sanctions “will have to integrate oil and coal”. Germany, for its part, wants to proceed step by step.
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The European executive also proposes the closure of ports for boats operated by Russians (except food, humanitarian aid and energy). It backs a €10 billion ban on exports of crucial industrial equipment and components to Russia, and a complete ban on transactions for four Russian banks. “We clearly need to increase our pressure even further” on Moscow, said Tuesday the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who also defends an embargo on cement and wood.
The Commission has offered to send investigators to help collect evidence on the war crimes perpetrated in Boutcha. She does not want to arrive in kyiv empty-handed, as Ursula von der Leyen and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell have planned to visit Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this week. In the meantime, several crackdowns have taken place to dry up Russian financial interests. In Palma de Mallorca, a joint operation by agents of the FBI and the Spanish Civil Guard led to the seizure of the yacht of a Russian oligarch, close to Vladimir Putin. In Germany, the ” bigger “ A global darknet sales platform operating in Russian since 2015, called “Hydra Market”, was dismantled on Tuesday on suspicion of criminal and money laundering activities.