On Wednesday 28 September 2022, Ursula von der Leyen (President of the European Council) announced details of the EU's eight package of sanctions against Russia. The package is expected to include:

1. further import bans worth EUR 7 billion;

2. a price cap on Russian oil, in line with the announced G7 cap;

3. an expanded services ban; and

4. targeted sanctions against individuals involved in the recent referenda organised in the Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.

Importantly, this is just an announcement and the measures have yet to be agreed by the EU Member States. Under EU Law, all 27 Member States are required to agree on the measures and it is expected that there will be some opposition to certain proposals. In particular, Hungary is expected to push back on the oil price cap, given its close ties to Russia. 

The list of potential services to be banned has not yet been formally announced, but reports suggest that this may include legal services. If implemented, this would deprive Russia of any EU legal services and would potentially impact not only EU legal services providers but also Russian companies which rely on EU group companies for legal support (subject to any exceptions).