Daily French reading and listening lesson
Sanctions europĂ©ennes contre la Russie : le 21e paquet bloquĂ© par les intĂ©rĂȘts nationaux
Document type: press article
French reading text
Le soutien Ă un nouveau train de sanctions contre Moscou sâaffaiblit, sans que cela traduise un dĂ©saccord sur la guerre en Ukraine.
Le blocage vient surtout dâintĂ©rĂȘts nationaux qui se sont imposĂ©s dans la discussion, avec en toile de fond le gaz grec, le poisson portugais et une banque autrichienne.
AprĂšs vingt paquets dĂ©jĂ adoptĂ©s contre la Russie, lâUnion europĂ©enne suit une procĂ©dure dĂ©sormais bien rodĂ©e : repĂ©rer les revenus russes qui restent encore accessibles, rĂ©diger de nouvelles interdictions, puis chercher lâaccord des Ătats membres.
Mais, cette fois, le 21e paquet se heurte Ă des rĂ©sistances qui montrent combien lâarbitrage entre ligne commune et intĂ©rĂȘts particuliers reste difficile.
Literal English translation
Support for a new round of sanctions against Moscow is weakening, without this meaning there is a disagreement about the war in Ukraine.
The blockage comes mainly from national interests that have become central to the discussion, with Greek gas, Portuguese fish, and an Austrian bank in the background.
After twenty packages already adopted against Russia, the European Union follows a procedure that is now well established: identify the Russian revenues that are still accessible, draft new bans, and then seek the agreement of the member states.
But this time, the 21st package is running into resistance, showing how difficult it remains to balance a common line with individual interests.