September 3, 2014
By Bruno Waterfield, Brussels
The European Union (click here) will strike at the heart of Russia's economy by extending sanctions to block all investment in the country's oil companies unless Vladimir Putin pulls invading Russian troops out of East Ukraine.
By Bruno Waterfield, Brussels
The European Union (click here) will strike at the heart of Russia's economy by extending sanctions to block all investment in the country's oil companies unless Vladimir Putin pulls invading Russian troops out of East Ukraine.
EU ambassadors have begun work in Brussels today on drawing up new economic sanctions building measures agreed at the end July and including political moves to hit the Russian President's prestige by stripping Russia of the right to host the 2018 World Cup.
Along with American sanctions, the EU measures, to be agreed by Friday unless Russia withdraws its military, will force President Putin to run his economy on a war footing placing a huge burden on state finances to stave off economic collapse at a time when the Russian rouble is hitting a record low.
According to a confidential three page document, seen by the Telegraph, all state-controlled Russian oil and defence companies will be banned from raising funds in European capital markets, cutting key sectors of Russia's stalling economy off from investment.
