The Council of the EU took the decision, without debate, on Tuesday 8 November, to impose sanctions on six further deputies elected on 18 September to the Russian Duma to represent Crimea and Sevastopol, several European sources have told EUROPE.
In all likelihood the six are Ruslan Balbek, Mikhail Sheremet, Andrey Kozenko, Konstantin Bakharev, Dmitry Belik and Svetlana Savchenko. MEPs had called for sanctions to be taken against these six (see EUROPE 11641). Restrictive measures have already been imposed on the other two Crimea and Sevastopol representatives in the Duma.
The Council decision was prompted by “action compromising or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine”. According to a source, this allows continuation of “the principle of non-recognition of the illegal annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation”. The European Union said on 19 September that it did not recognise the elections in the Crimean peninsula (see EUROPE 11628).
The measures are expected to be published in the Official Journal of the EU of Wednesday 9 November. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)