Brussels, 20/03/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 19 March, the European heads of state and government agreed on the principle of maintaining the restrictive measures against the Russian Federation until the Minsk agreements are fully implemented.
The expiry date of “31 December 2015” features clearly in the European Council conclusions. This was far from being guaranteed at the start of the meeting, however. “The European Council agreed that the duration of the restrictive measures against the Russian Federation, adopted on 31 July 2014 and enhanced on 8 September 2014, should be clearly linked to the complete implementation of the Minsk agreements, bearing in mind that this is only foreseen by 31 December 2015”, state the conclusions that were adopted.
This expiry date is the key element, which was the most discussed by the European leaders. The 31 December 2015 deadline was not chosen at random as it is a reference to two points (which are today essential) in the last Minsk agreement (12 February 2015). Firstly, this Minsk agreement stipulates that by the end of the year Kiev must implement a constitutional reform of decentralisation, which will guarantee a special status and large autonomy for certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Secondly, the Ukrainian state must be able to recover total control of its borders by the end of 2015.
The ball is therefore in the Ukrainian government's court to conduct this reform of the constitution, but all eyes are on Moscow and what will happen to a part of the Russian-Ukrainian border over which Ukrainians border officers have de facto lost control and which has served from the outset of the conflict for feeding the pro-Russian separatists of Donbass with fighters and weapons. Re-establishing control of the whole border by the Ukrainian state is in fact currently the biggest challenge in implementing the Minsk agreements, said a European diplomat on the sidelines of the European Council meeting.
The European leaders have therefore decided to take a wait-and-see approach because “the necessary decisions will be taken in the coming months”, they state in the Council conclusions. In the view of France's President François Hollande, this means that “in June there will be an assessment and the European Council will decide on the issue of extending or of maintaining the sanctions” which expire on 1 August and could thus be extended until the end of the year. Should the Minsk agreements be violated, the door is also open to strengthening the sanctions. Similarly, should an “acceleration” towards peace be noted in East Ukraine, then “decisions will have to be taken” by the EU as a result, Hollande added. In German Chancellor Angela Merkel's view, “we will only be able to lift these sanctions if Ukraine regains its territorial integrity”.
Action plan for fighting Russian propaganda. The European Council tasked High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini with working “to prepare by June an action plan on strategic communications” in order “to challenge Russia's ongoing disinformation campaigns”. Between now and then, “a communication team” will be set up in the European External Action Service (EEAS). (Jan Kordys with CG and JC)