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3/4/19

EU Council: Ball is rolling on EU human rights sanctions - Andrew Rettman

The ball is rolling for targeted EU sanctions on human rights abusers worldwide following initial talks in Brussels.

A Dutch proposal, which earlier won French and German support, was discussed by member states' diplomats in the EU capital on Wednesday (27 February).

The same group, the so-called Working Party on Human Rights, in the EU Council is to hold further talks on 13 March, 27 March, and 10 April.

The new "EU Human Rights Sanctions Regime" is to impose asset freezes and visa bans on individual abusers, such as foreign warlords or torturers, no matter where they come from.

For its part, Hungary has questioned whether Europe needed the new-model sanctions and has voiced "procedural grumblings", an EU source said.

There were also concerns that Italy's Russia-friendly government might block them if the measures appeared to pose a threat to Russian elites.

Read more: Ball rolling on EU human rights sanctions

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