European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced the 21st sanction package by the bloc against Russia, this time including cod in the list of goods to be completely banned.
In a statement, von der Leyen said the current sanctions are beginning to pay off as Russia’s economy is slowing, and the E.U. must now focus on sectors with the “highest impact,” which includes the country’s fisheries for the first time.
“We are addressing one of the last major unsanctioned sectors: fisheries,” von der Leyen said. “We propose substantial restrictions on imports on some fish products and a complete ban on others, including cod, and we will be aligning trade restrictions for Belarus so it cannot serve as a backdoor for Russian trade.”
Russia has remained a top source of whitefish for the E.U. even as the bloc has sanctioned a number of other goods since the country invaded Ukraine in February 2022. It briefly proposed sanctioning Russian seafood, but so far, it has escaped any sanctions despite multiple instances of the E.U. considering them.
European trade groups have opposed those sanctions, citing the bloc’s high reliance on imports of types of whitefish from the country. The SeafoodSource Pricing Portal shows consistent imports from Russia throughout the last two years, showing the E.U. imported nearly 15,000 metric tons (MT) of whitefish in March 2026.
Despite the size of the supply, von der Leyen said the E.U. needs to continue putting pressure on Russia’s economy amid continued strikes in Ukraine.
“Almost every day now, we wake up to the same kind of news – another major Russian strike on Ukrainian cities, targeting civilians blindly. We also wake up to the news of drones violating European airspace,” she said.
As before, the sanctions will require approval from all 27 E.U. member countries.
The Russian embassy in the Netherlands mocked the proposal on social media.
“We have a better idea: Instead of banning Russian fish products (and yes, get ready for prices to rise), Eurocrats could just ban Europeans from breathing air carried in by the wind from Russia,” the embassy wrote.
The E.U. has already targeted certain Russian fishing companies with sanctions, blocking Norebo and Murman Seafood Company from its markets in May 2025 after accusing the companies of using equipment that could be used for espionage.
