Brussels, 21/12/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 21 December, the European Union formally extended for six months its sanctions against Russia, in connection with the Ukrainian crisis. This was done by written procedure.
The sanctions target trade with Russia in the energy, defence and finance sectors, as well as in the area of dual-use goods. The announcement on prolonging the sanctions will be published in the Official Journal of Tuesday 22 December. The ambassadors had approved the extension politically on 18 December (see EUROPE 11457).
The restrictive measures, which initially ran until 31 January 2016, have thus been extended until 31 July 2016. At the European Council in March 2015 (see EUROPE 11279), the European heads of state and government linked the duration of the sanctions against Russia to the complete implementation of the Minsk agreements, which was initially planned to take place by 31 December 2015.
The sanctions were originally introduced for a year on 31 July 2014 (see EUROPE 11133), then strengthened in September 2014 (see EUROPE 11154). They were then extended by six months on 22 June 2015 (see EUROPE 11340). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)