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.

The EU has been tightening the economic screws on Moscow through a series of sanctions packages since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. But as our team reported overnight, the bloc’s 19th sanctions bundle has hit a snag.

Demands by Austria that the EU unfreeze assets linked to Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska to compensate one of its banks left the country isolated at a meeting of EU ambassadors yesterday, with no agreement reached.

Some background: the EU sanctioned Deripaska in 2022, shortly after Russia’s invasion, freezing his shares in a construction firm now at the center of the complex financial proposal under consideration to compensate Raiffeisen bank. But many member states fear the move could create a precedent for other sanctioned individuals and entities.

Austria’s concerns illustrate the challenge faced by the EU – how to square the specific demands and vulnerabilities of individual countries with the need to act for the greater good.

In an interview with Bloomberg TV today, EU sanctions envoy David O’Sullivan played down the latest sticking-point, pointing out that Austria isn’t the only problem. Slovakia has also raised issues with the package.

David O’Sullivan. Photographer: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

This is “the normal cut and thrust of European negotiations when you require unanimous agreement,” O’Sullivan said, predicting that the package will be passed within the next week to 10 days. That’s just in time for the Oct. 23-24 summit in Brussels.

O’Sullivan said that sanctions have “proven successful” in hitting the Russian economy but cautioned that the measures “are not going to stop a war, when you have a dictator such as Mr. Putin.”

Meanwhile, ambassadors were also briefed Wednesday on discussions around the terms of the EU-US trade deal amid fresh demands from Washington.

“We would like to think that a deal is a deal and you don’t reopen it. But we also know that Mr. Trump is a disrupter, someone who likes to be unpredictable,” said O’Sullivan who served as the EU ambassador in Washington during the first Trump administration.

“If it is disrupted by the US, then obviously it may be difficult to see it finally approved,” he added, noting that the European Parliament still has to agree to the deal.

The Latest

• Two no-confidence motions in European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen were rejected by the European Parliament today.
• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s ruling alliance agreed on new purchase incentives for zero-emission vehicles worth €3 billion through 2029, part of his government’s broader effort to support the nation’s ailing carmakers.
• French President Emmanuel Macron said he’ll name a new prime minister by Friday evening, having for the time being avoided the need to call a snap election that could deepened the political chaos in Paris.
• European Central Bank officials considered another interest-rate cut in September but ultimately decided against it amid upside inflation risks, according to an account of their September meeting.
• Russian strikes in recent days have wiped out more than half of Ukraine’s domestic natural gas production, likely forcing the war-battered country to spend nearly 2 billion euros on fuel imports to survive the winter.
• France urged the EU’s top markets watchdog to start supervising major crypto companies directly after the expansion of major players in the continent.
• The US and Finland will sign a deal at the White House today to expand the American icebreaker fleet.

Seen and Heard on Bloomberg

How will the EU respond to France’s rapidly-deteriorating fiscal outlook? Economist Maria Demertzis of think-tank The Conference Board Europe told Bloomberg Radio’s Stephen Carroll that “the whole of Europe is watching” how Brussels will apply its rules to a budget that will be full of costly compromises. “If France is the one that doesn’t behave according to the fiscal rules, there is absolutely no chance that those fiscal rules will ever be reinstated and meant to bite.”

The Number

Coming up

• Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Prime Minister Petteri Orpo meet Trump in Washington tonight
• Eurogroup finance ministers meet today in Luxembourg
• Finance ministers from all 27 EU member states meet in Luxembourg tomorrow

Final Thought

Cristiano Ronaldo. Photographer: Octavio Passos/Getty Images

Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most visible sports stars on the planet and the most followed person on Instagram. Less well-known is his wealth manager. Miguel Marques, 52, is a discreet but pivotal figure in tending to Ronaldo’s immense fortune. Operating from a Lisbon office above the Louis Vuitton flagship store on the swanky Avenida da Liberdade, the Portuguese private banker helps the footballer manage his estimated $1.4 billion net worth.

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