On Monday, the EU Commission confirmed that the proposal on the 11th package of sanctions against Russia has been sent out to EU member states earlier this week: announcing a scheduled discussion of the sanctions package in the EU's Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) on May 10.   

"I can confirm that the Commission's proposal for the 11th package of sanctions has been sent out to the member states, that happened on Friday," EU Commission spokesman Eric Mamer said in a briefing.

Read more: Poland suffers $27mln losses per day due to Russia sanctions

The spokesman added that the commission was awaiting for the proposal to be discussed and potentially amended in the case of counter proposals in COREPER on May 10 for it to be finalized. 

"The goal is for the EU member states to negotiate on this proposal, so to conclude on a final format of the proposal," Mamer added.  

Read next: Work on 10th anti-Russia package of sanctions underway: Polish envoy

On February 25 the EU Commission introduced the 10th package of sanctions against Russia: which specifically aimed to curb Russia's petroleum products exports. Sales of Russian crude did not decrease as the West had hoped; shipments dodged European ports and headed to China and India instead.

In December last year, the European Union imposed its ninth sanctions package on Russia, prohibiting citizens to hold governing posts in companies owned by the Russian state, the European Council said on Friday.