The chief of staff to Germany's new chancellor, Thorsten Frei, has called on Europe to step "out of our comfort zone" and impose tougher sanctions on Russia, such as banning gas and uranium imports and tapping into frozen Russian state assets.

European leaders agreed to increase pressure on Russia through sanctions after U.S. President Donald Trump briefed them on his call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said late on Monday.

Calls for tightening of bloc’s sanctions regime after Kontron was able to export millions in sensitive telecoms tech to its Russian arm in late 2023.