The European Union was notified by Moscow "in general" of its decision to expand the list of EU citizens who are denied Russia entry, but it is not aware of the reason behind the sanctions and the composition of the list, EU spokesman Peter Stano told Sputnik on Thursday, rejecting the sanctions

Moscow is expanding the "blacklist" of EU citizens banned from entering the country, this step has been taken on a parity basis due to the confrontational approach of Brussels, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday

Germany, which is currently led by vocal advocates of globalization, wants the European Union, not Germany itself, to become the new permanent member of the UN Security Council, and Berlin is ready to abandon a lot of aspects of its sovereignty, as well as its own claims for a seat in the council despite being one of the bloc's strongest economies, Sergey Henke, a member of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, told Sputnik