Vladimir Putin – Photo EU Council
(LUXEMBOURG) – EU ministers decided to extend sanctions against Russia for another year Monday, as the EU continued to punish Russia for the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sebastopol.
The measures apply to EU persons and EU based companies. They are limited to the territory of Crimea and Sevastopol. The sanctions include prohibitions on:
- imports of products originating in Crimea or Sevastopol into the EU;
- investment in Crimea or Sevastopol, meaning that no Europeans nor EU-based companies can buy real estate or entities in Crimea, finance Crimean companies or supply related services;
- tourism services in Crimea or Sevastopol, in particular, European cruise ships cannot call at ports in the Crimean peninsula, except in case of emergency;
- exports of certain goods and technologies to Crimean companies or for use in Crimea in the transport, telecommunications and energy sectors and related to the prospecting, exploration and production of oil, gas and mineral resources. Technical assistance, brokering, construction or engineering services related to infrastructure in these sectors must not be provided either.
As stated in a declaration by EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini on behalf of the EU on 16 March 2018, “the EU remains firmly committed to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
Four years on from the illegal annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol by the Russian Federation, the EU reiterates that it does not recognise and continues to condemn this “violation of international law”.
Overview of EU restrictive measures in response to the crisis in Ukraine
