歐盟未就對俄新制裁達成一致

Increasingly divided EU ministers failed to issue a specific threat of further economic sanctions against Russia on Thursday, despite fears that the conflict in Ukraine was entering a dangerous new phase.

儘管外界擔心，烏克蘭衝突正進入一個危險的新階段，但分歧越來越嚴重的歐盟(EU)外長週四未能就針對俄羅斯的進一步經濟制裁發出具體威脅。

European foreign ministers held an emergency meeting in Brussels to determine how to respond to the collapse of a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, fearing that this weekend’s bombardment of the port city of Mariupol marked a dramatic escalation of the fighting.

歐盟外長在布魯塞爾召開一次緊急會議，旨在確定如何對烏克蘭東部停火協議流產做出迴應，他們擔心，上週末對烏克蘭馬裏烏波爾港口城市的轟炸標誌着衝突的嚴重升級。

However, diplomats in Brussels said it was increasingly difficult to preserve a united front among the 28 members of the EU, partly because of the recent election of a leftwing government in Greece which has vowed to act as a bridge between Europe and Russia.

然而，歐盟外長表示，在歐盟28個成員國建立統一陣線的難度越來越大，部分原因是最近希臘左翼政府在大選中獲勝，該政府承諾將充當歐洲與俄羅斯之間的橋樑。

In a weak final statement, the ministers simply instructed the European Commission to undertake more preparatory work on loosely defined “appropriate action”. No deadline was given for this work to be completed.

在一份語氣軟弱的最終聲明中，歐盟外長只是建議歐盟委員會(European Commission)就定義寬鬆的“適當行動”展開更多準備性工作。關於這項工作何時完成沒有設定具體期限。

Earlier in the day, some nations had pushed for a more specific threat of “restrictive measures” against Russia — diplomatic code for sanctions.

當日早些時候，一些國家支持對俄羅斯做出更具體的“限制性措施”（這是指代制裁的外交術語）威脅。

Federica Mogherini, the EU’s foreign affairs chief, said European leaders would have a final say on how to interpret “appropriate action” against Moscow at a summit on February 12.

歐盟外交事務負責人費代裏卡•莫蓋里尼(Federica Mogherini)表示，在2月12日峯會上，關於如何解讀對俄羅斯採取“適當行動”，歐洲領導人擁有最終發言權。

The difficulty in issuing a clear threat to Russia highlights the EU’s faultlines. Arriving at the meeting, Nikos Kotzias, the new Greek foreign minister, said Athens would work to prevent a “rift between the European Union and Russia”.

難以對俄羅斯發出明顯威脅突顯出歐盟內部的裂痕。希臘新任外交部長尼科斯•考特奇亞斯(Nikos Kotzias)在會上表示，希臘將致力於阻止“歐盟與俄羅斯的分歧”。

His government, which came to power this week, had already expressed a “general reservation” towards EU measures aimed at expanding sanctions against Moscow.

本週上任的希臘新政府已表示，對歐盟旨在擴大對俄羅斯制裁的舉措持“總體保留”態度。

EU sanctions imposed last year have targeted Russia’s energy, defence and banking sectors and have been seen as a critical factor in crippling Moscow’s economy, which has been weakened further by the collapsing oil price. Hawkish countries in the EU want more curbs on Russia’s access to international capital markets.

歐盟去年開始的針對俄羅斯能源、國防和銀行業的制裁，被視爲重創俄羅斯經濟的一個關鍵因素，油價下挫又進一步削弱了俄羅斯經濟。歐盟內部的鷹派國家希望對俄羅斯在國際資本市場實施更多限制。

Countries such as Britain, Sweden, Poland, Romania and the Baltic states also want a more specific timeframe for the imposition of new economic sanctions.

英國、瑞典、波蘭、羅馬尼亞和波羅的海國家等國還希望就對俄實施新一輪經濟制裁制定更具體的時間表。

However, diplomats from this hardline camp said France, Italy and, to a lesser extent, Germany were guarded about a tough response to Russia.

然而來自這個強硬派陣營的外交人士表示，法國、意大利以及德國對於對俄做出強硬迴應持保留態度，德國的態度更溫和些。

In a largely symbolic move, the EU ministers agreed to prolong until September the blacklisting of Russians and Ukrainians seen as instigating the conflict. Asset freezes and travel bans against them had been due to expire in March.

在一項基本上屬於象徵性的舉措中，歐盟外長同意將針對黑名單人士的措施延長至9月，針對這些人的資產凍結和旅行禁令將於3月到期。黑名單上的人均爲被視作煽動衝突的俄羅斯人和烏克蘭人。

Diplomats argue that the internal EU friction will make it far harder to renew the broader sanctions against whole sectors of the Russian economy when they expire in July.

外交人士辯稱，歐盟內部分歧將令歐盟屆時更難重新實施針對俄羅斯經濟所有領域的較廣泛制裁，這些制裁將於7月到期。