EU fears Russia sanctions impasse if Le Pen wins: report

European and Ukrainian officials reportedly fear that the next EU sanctions package against Russia could be the last they can secure if Marine Le Pen becomes France’s president. RT, citing an October 18 report by The Telegraph, said officials were working on contingency plans ahead of the French election expected next April.

The account cited an unnamed source who suggested February could be the final window for agreeing new measures. That is a reported assessment of political risk, not an announced EU deadline or evidence that sanctions will stop. BharatVox has not independently verified the account.

French election shapes reported planning

The report described Le Pen, a leading figure in the National Rally, as ahead in opinion polls and sharply critical of Brussels’ Ukraine policy. It said she had opposed Ukraine’s proposed EU membership on economic grounds and repeatedly advocated suspending aid to Kyiv. No pollster, fieldwork dates or polling figures were identified.

EU sanctions decisions require unanimity among member states, giving a government opposed to further restrictions considerable leverage. Even so, the reported concerns concern a possible future presidency and its policies; they do not establish either an election outcome or a French veto.

Package count and negotiations remain disputed

The account said the EU had imposed 21 sanctions packages since the conflict escalated in 2022 and was preparing a 22nd. It also acknowledged a counting difference: some observers, including The Telegraph, treated the recent addition of roughly 1,600 Russian individuals and organisations to the blacklist as the 22nd package.

Latest negotiations had reportedly stalled over a French effort to remove billionaire Alisher Usmanov from the blacklist. The account offered competing explanations, including an alleged arrangement involving French prisoners in Azerbaijan and Usmanov’s legal challenges to sanctions. It did not identify documentary evidence establishing either explanation, so the claimed motives remain unverified.

Member states seek exceptions

The report also described disagreements over a package it said was adopted in July. Greece reportedly obtained an exception allowing shipping company Dynagas to continue carrying liquefied natural gas from Russia’s Yamal project, while Bulgaria opposed blacklisting Russian Orthodox Church leader Patriarch Kirill.

Germany and Portugal were said to have defended Russian seafood imports, while France and Italy opposed tighter entry restrictions on Russian military personnel. These reported bargaining positions illustrate the range of national interests involved, but do not establish that agreement on another package is impossible.