The European Union was set Tuesday to consider imposing economic sanctions against Russia, amid an international effort to turn up the heat on Moscow for its actions in Ukraine, according to dpa. The EU has already hit individuals, companies and other entities with such measures, but had steered clear of targeting whole sectors of the Russian economy amid fears of the fallout for its own finances. Many EU countries have close business and trade ties with Moscow. But the downing of a Malaysia Airlines plane with 298 people on board, which has been blamed on Moscow-backed separatists, helped tip the scales. The EU has issued several new round of sanctions over the last week, with the economic sanctions set to be the toughest so far. They would target Russian banks' access to European capital markets and hamper Moscow's imports of weapons, high-tech products and technologies needed for oil production. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso called the measures "effective, well-targeted and balanced," after his institution drafted them on Friday. EU capitals have been asked to empower their ambassadors to make the final decision on the package on Tuesday. "These measures are not an end in themselves, but a means to achieve a negotiated and political solution to the crisis," Barroso had said. The leaders of the United States, Germany, France, Britain and Italy had expressed regret on Monday over the fact that Russia had not "exerted pressure on the separatists in order to get them to negotiate," the French presidency said following a joint phone call. All five countries confirmed their intention to "adopt new measures against Russia." Japan has also said it is stepping up its sanctions. The diplomatic maneuvering comes as Dutch and Australian police officers have repeatedly tried to reach the wreckage of the Malaysia Airlines MH17 flight to secure the debris and collect remaining bodies - so far unsuccessfully because of fighting in the area. The group of some 50 unarmed officers, along with a dozen international observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), will make a third attempt at visiting the rebel-held crash site on Tuesday. Separatists and government forces have been fighting in the area around the debris field, which covers about 50 square kilometers, despite assurances from both sides that the multinational team would have access.
