Brussels, 17/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 17 June, the ambassadors of the member states to the EU reached an agreement to extend the economic restrictive measures against Russia until 31 January 2016.
These measures were initially adopted on 31 July 2014 (see EUROPE 11133), then extended on 8 September (see EUROPE 11153). They include financial measures against energy technologies, equipment and services, an embargo on the import and export of weapons and related material from and to Russia, and a ban on the export of dual use goods and technologies for military purposes or for final military use.
The decision to extend the restrictive measures follows the decision of the European Council on 19 March to link the duration of the economic sanctions against Russia to full implementation of the Minsk agreements to settle the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. This is planned for 31 December 2015 (see EUROPE 11279). A European source stated that extending the sanctions until the end of January would allow time to assess the Minsk implementation after the deadline of the end of December.
According to another European source, the formal decision to extend the sanctions is expected to take place without debate at the Foreign Affairs Council on Monday 22 June. The ministers are thus expected to adopt the legal acts that are currently being worked upon. These should then be published in the EU Official Journal of 23 June. (Camille-Cerise Gessant)