The measures outlined by the EU are similar to steps already announced by Washington, but would have far greater impact because Europe buys most of Russia’s oil and gas exports, while the United States is only a minor trade partner. The EU’s 335 billion euros ($465 billion) of trade with Russia in 2012 was worth about 10 times that of the United States.
The travel bans and asset freezes could cut members of Russia’s elite off from the European cities that provide their second homes and the European banks that hold their cash.
The fast pace of Russian moves to annex Crimea appears to have galvanized the leaders of a 28-member bloc whose consensus rules often slow down its decisions.
Merkel herself had initially expressed reservations about sanctions but has been frustrated by Moscow’s refusal to form a “contact group” to seek a diplomatic solution over Crimea.
“Almost a week ago, we said that if that wasn’t successful within a few days, we’d have to consider a second stage of sanctions,” Merkel said. “Six days have gone by since then, and we have to recognize, even though we will continue our efforts to form a contact group, that we haven’t made any progress.”