Europe's response to Crimea falls short of Washington

Europe has ramped up its response to Russia's annexation of Crimea with a new round of sanctions that still fall short of Washington's moves and will have little bite, experts say.
The European Union this week slapped sanctions on 12 new officials linked to Moscow's takeover of the Crimean peninsula, bringing its blacklist to 33. Among them are Russian politicians, including Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, along with other members of President Vladimir Putin's inner circle and Black Sea and Crimea military commanders.
But, unlike the United States, the EU has not yet extended its measures to economic sanctions. According to Brussels, the annexation of Crimea merits only "Stage 2" sanctions, which include visa bans, asset freezes and political wrist-slapping, such as suspending G8 meetings, halting bilateral summits and stopping negotiations on Russia's joining the OECD.

The EU sanctions "are very limited, their impact is more symbolic," said Xavier Follebouckt, a specialist in Russia and international relations at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium.
US President Barack Obama meanwhile ordered a second round of hard sanctions on Thursday against nearly two dozen Putin allies and Bank Rossiya, which sent shares tumbling and ratings agencies Standard and Poor's and Fitch changing Russia's outlook to negative from stable.
Several Russian banks including Rossiya and its main shareholder Yuri Kovalchuk -- described as a "crony bank" for the Russian elite by Washington -- saw their customers barred from using Visa and MasterCard credit cards yesterday.

Putin yesterday made light of the latest US sanctions over the Ukraine crisis, saying Moscow would hold off on reciprocal punitive measures. Russia has yet to announce any retaliatory action against the EU.
Ukraine's interim prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk yesterday signed the political provisions of a landmark accord on closer ties with Europe as a defiant Russia formally completed its takeover of Crimea with firework displays over Moscow and the Crimean cities of Simferopol and Sevastopol.
"The best way to contain Russia is to submit it to a real economic pressure," he said during his trip to Brussels to sign the pact.