The European Union plans to approve its 12th package of sanctions against Russia on Monday, 18 December, Politico reports, citing an unnamed European diplomat.

As reported by Politico, one of the diplomats said that a short written procedure for the adoption of sanctions will take place today, and the official publication of the new package of restrictions is also planned for today.

This will come after Austria lifted its reservations on the EU's 12th package of sanctions against Russia when Ukraine removed the Austrian Raiffeisen Bank from its list of international war sponsors.

The National Agency on Corruption Prevention removed Raiffeisen from the list of international war sponsors on its website. This arrangement was part of a compromise with Vienna.

The decision made at the EU summit, published on 14 December, contained the phrase that the EU "welcomes the adoption" of the 12th package of sanctions against Russia.

But later, it became known that a legal agreement had not yet been reached, and Austria blocked it due to the declaration of Raiffeisen as an international war sponsor.

Raiffeisen is one of the most important financial channels through which Russian businesses conduct transactions in dollars and euros. As a result, the bank makes huge profits, from which it then finances the budget of the aggressor country with its taxes.