The European Commission has registered a citizens' initiative for a complete ban on all imports from Russia and Belarus into the European Union.
The authors of the initiative need to gather at least one million signatures in support from at least seven EU countries.
On January 29, 2026, the European Commission officially registered the European Citizens' Initiative, which calls for a complete ban on imports from Russia and Belarus into the EU. The authors of the initiative must collect at least 1 million signatures within 12 months, and the signatures must come from at least seven EU countries for the Commission to commit to considering it.
Title of the initiative: Stop Funding Russia's War: Phase Out Harmful and Useless Russian Imports into the EU.
- Goal: to stop the flow of funds from the EU to the budgets of Russia and Belarus, eliminate vulnerabilities in critical supply chains, and strengthen value-oriented trade policy.
- Procedure:
- After registration, organizers have 6 months to open the signature collection period.
- Then, 12 months are provided for collecting signatures.
- If the threshold of 1 million signatures from 7 countries is reached, the Commission is obliged to consider the initiative and provide an official response (but is not obliged to accept it).
The EU has already imposed 18 packages of sanctions against Russia and Belarus, including sectoral bans on exports and imports, restrictions in the energy and financial sectors.
- The European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) has existed since 2012 as a tool for citizens to influence the EU agenda. During this time, 126 initiatives have been registered, but only a few have reached discussion in EU institutions. #ЕС $BTC
