EU extends sanctions against Russia until August 2018
The Council of the European Union has extended sanctions against Russia until July 31, 2018.
“On December 21, 2017, the Council extended economic sanctions against specific sectors of the Russian economy until July 31, 2018,” the report stated of the European Council.
Initially, these measures were introduced on July 31, 2014 for a period of one year in response to Russia’s actions that destabilized the situation in Ukraine. They were strengthened in September of the same year and are directed against the financial, energy and defense sectors, as well as the sphere of dual-purpose goods.
On March 19, 2015, the European Council agreed to link the duration of these sanctions to the full implementation of the Minsk agreements, which were supposed to go into effect on December 31 of the same year.
Since the Minsk agreements have never been implemented, the Council of the EU extends the sanctions every six months.
The economic sanctions extended by this decision include restricting access to the primary and secondary EU capital markets for the five major state-owned majority companies and their subsidiaries, as well as to three major Russian energy companies and three defense companies. Also, restrictions apply to the ban on exports and imports of the arms trade, the ban on the export of dual-use goods for military use or military end users in Russia, and limits Russia’s access to certain sensitive technologies and services that can be used for oil production and exploration.
In addition to these economic sanctions, several EU measures are also in effect in response to the crisis in Ukraine, including a visa ban and assets freeze against 150 individuals and 38 legal entities until March 15, 2018.
Earlier, the EU requested permission from the World Trade Organization to introduce trade sanctions against the Russian Federation in the amount of $1.6 billion.