EU citizens may be banned from holding senior positions in Russia's state-owned companies

The European Union (EU) is considering a German initiative to ban EU citizens from holding senior positions in Russian state-owned companies, Report informs, citing Bloomberg.

If the European Commission puts forward this proposal, and all EU countries support it, then the ban may affect ex-Chancellor of Germany Gerhard Schroeder. He chairs the shareholders' committee of Nord Stream AG and the board of directors of Nord Stream 2 AG.

One of the interlocutors of the agency specified, the proposed ban will include a phased period. The list of specific persons who will be prohibited from working in Russia has not been compiled. It is assumed that the governments of the EU countries will have to enforce the restrictions. Possible terms of their adoption are not specified.

Last week, the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung also reported that the German authorities proposed to the EU to ban citizens of European countries from holding senior positions in Russian companies. The proposal has already been supported by Ireland, Poland and the three Baltic countries. This ban is expected to be included in a new package of anti-Russian sanctions.