EU renews sanctions over Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine
European Union foreign ministers decided on July 20 to prolong by six months, until January 31 2024, the restrictive measures targeting specific sectors of the economy of the Russian Federation, the Council of the EU said in a statement.
These sanctions, first introduced in 2014 in response to Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine, were significantly expanded since February 2022, in response to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine, the statement said.
They currently consist of a broad spectrum of sectoral measures, including restrictions on trade, finance, technology and dual-use goods, industry, transport and luxury goods.
They also cover a ban on the import or transfer of seaborne crude oil and certain petroleum products from Russia to the EU, a de-SWIFTing of several Russian banks, and the suspension of the broadcasting activities and licences of several Kremlin-backed disinformation outlets.
Additionally, specific measures were introduced to strengthen the ability of the EU to counter sanctions circumvention.
In addition to the economic sanctions on the Russian Federation, the EU has in place different types of measures in response to Russia’s destabilising actions against Ukraine.
These include restrictions on economic relations with the illegally annexed Crimea and the city of Sevastopol as well as the non-government controlled areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts; individual restrictive measures (asset freezes and travel restrictions) on a broad range of individuals and entities, and diplomatic measures.
Since February 24 2022, the beginning of Russia’s current invasion of Ukraine, the EU has in response adopted 11 packages of sanctions against Russia.
(Photo: EC Audiovisual Service)
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