EU members fail to reach agreement on new Russia sanctions — diplomats

Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrives to take part in a European Council Summit in Brussels. (AFP)

• Poland and some other countries still have objections
• Some say EU restrictions pose food security threat to developing countries

BRUSSELS: European Union member states failed to agree on a ninth package of Russia sanctions in talks late on Wednesday, diplomats said as EU leaders gathered in Brussels on Thursday for their last summit of the year.
Countries moved closer to a deal in Wednesday’s negotiations but Poland and some other countries still have objections, one EU diplomat told Reuters, adding a new draft was expected to be circulated on Thursday evening.
Fresh sanctions on Moscow have been held up by disagreement over whether the EU should make it easier for Russian fertilizer exports to pass through European ports, even in the case when the fertilizer companies are owned by blacklisted oligarchs.
Some say EU restrictions pose a food security threat to developing countries, while others argue that relaxing them would allow Russian oligarchs who own fertilizer businesses to dodge EU sanctions against them.
One EU diplomat said Poland and the Baltic states are telling other countries that they are deluding themselves if they think a relaxation on Russian fertilizers is not going to be abused as a loophole for oligarchs.
Some member states want the World Food Programme involved on authorization for exports of fertilizers to countries that need it.