The EU’s 27 member states agree to the fifth sanctions package against Russia, entailing a ban on importing Russian coal, wood and vodka, among other measures, diplomats confirm with news agency dpa.

Member states thereby agree to the EU Commission’s plan to impose new sanctions.

The ratification is set to be published on Friday in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Formal approval is not completely finalized, though, Ritzau gathers.

Issues regarding text formulation must first be settled before the final approval is official, which will probably take place Friday morning.

While the sanctions target Russia, EU member states also face significant consequences – some more than others.

The new sanctions were meant to have been ready Wednesday this week – on the same day the US and UK announced tightening their sanctions in the wake of war crime evidence surfacing.

However, there was some disagreement within EU circles as to how extensive a ban on Russian coal should be, and from when the embargo should apply.

Many European power plants have thus far been dependent on Russian coal to generate electricity.

According to dpa, in internal talks Poland opposed allowing a transitional scheme of stopping coal import, while other countries like Germany wanted slightly more than the three months proposed by the EU Commission.

Greece and Malta advocated a less strict version of the Commission’s plan to prohibit Russian vessels from calling at EU ports.

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