Welcome to the Brussels Edition. I’m Suzanne Lynch, Bloomberg’s Brussels bureau chief, bringing you the latest from the EU each weekday. Make sure you’re signed up.

After months of negotiations, the EU has unveiled details of its 19th package of sanctions against Russia, the latest effort to pressure Vladimir Putin to end his war in Ukraine.

“Again and again, President Putin has escalated and in response Europe is increasing its pressure,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said today, urging member states to back the deal.

As Bloomberg scooped on Thursday, a key element of the package is a ban on LNG imports from Russia from January 2027 – a year earlier than planned.

In addition to energy-related measures, the Commission announced sanctions on Russian banks, some lenders in Belarus and Kazakhstan, as well as a number of crypto exchanges, confirming Bloomberg’s earlier reporting.

It is also adding 118 shadow fleet tankers to its sanctions list, according to von der Leyen. That increases the total to 560. 

Also included in the proposal are trade restrictions on Chinese and Indian entities that have enabled Russia to get around the bloc’s curbs, as well as new export bans on more than €40 billion worth of goods, including minerals, ceramic and rubber used by Moscow’s military industry, my colleague Alberto Nardelli reports. 

The decision to ban Russian LNG imports earlier than expected is likely to please US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly called on Europe to buy more of the fuel from the US. The White House has also been pushing Brussels to hit China and India over their purchase of Russian oil. 

Von der Leyen also confirmed that the EU will come forward with a proposal on using frozen Russian assets very soon. The plan is to provide Ukraine with a reparations loan via the cash balances associated with these Russian assets — a key topic of discussion at today’s meeting of the bloc’s finance ministers in Copenhagen. 

Dan Jorgensen. Photographer: Wei Leng Tay/Bloomberg

Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen said the US would fill some of the gap left by the phase out of Russian LNG.

“The US is now the second-biggest exporter of gas to the EU, Norway is still number one,“ he said in an interview with Bloomberg after the announcement. He added that he had spoken with US Energy Secretary Chris Wright last week about helping American gas companies sell more of the fuel to Europe.

The Latest

• Google will meet the EU’s deadline to propose changes to its advertising technology business after a near-€3 billion fine — but it won’t include the full breakup that the EU and industry rivals previously pushed for, Sam Stolton reports this afternoon. 
• Spanish Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo has defended his country’s policy on China, telling Bloomberg in an interview today that its strategy is conducted in tandem with the EU and doesn’t risk relations with the US.
• The EU has set itself a year-end deadline for taking the next steps to boost pension investment and make trading easier, as officials battle to inject momentum into the rejuvenation of Europe’s capital markets.  
• European companies are halting production due to shortages of rare earth products from China, even as the world’s top supplier ramps up overall exports to record levels.
• Meanwhile, executives from Europe’s electric-vehicle industry are trekking to the continent’s sparsely populated northeast to queue for something they struggle to find anywhere outside of China: rare-earths magnets, Bloomberg’s Ott Tammik reports.
• The EU should consider all possibilities to utilize billions of euros of frozen Russian assets to help fund Ukraine, Dutch Finance Minister Eelco Heinen told Bloomberg Television today. 

Seen and Heard on Bloomberg

The EU is inching toward issuing joint debt to help fund investments needed to improve its economy, Austria’s Finance Minister Markus Marterbauer told Bloomberg Television in Copenhagen. “As an economist, I think this is the right direction.”

Chart of the Day

Wages in Poland grew in August by the slowest level since 2021, coming in below analysts’ expectations and raising the prospect of an interest rate cut next month. Poland’s central bank has cut the benchmark by a quarter point to 4.75% earlier in September, its third reduction in five months.

Coming Up

• US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping hold call today
• Update tonight on Italy’s credit rating from Fitch 
• Meeting of EU finance ministers and central bank governors continues in Copenhagen tomorrow

Final Thought

Dutch Crown Princess Amalia at the christening of the combat support ship Den Helder in Vlissingen, Netherlands. Photographer: Mischa Schoemaker/SIPAPRE

Shipbuilder Damen, a jewel of Dutch industry, is facing a wave of problems having been charged with corruption and sanctions violations and after a major customer froze payments. The setbacks have rattled the firm’s NATO customers, just as Europe has begun pouring billions of euros into defense to confront Russia. The issues could cripple the company and complicate the continent’s ambitions of rearming.

Don’t keep it to yourself. Colleagues and friends can sign up here.

How are we doing? We want to hear what you think about this newsletter. Let our Brussels bureau chief know.