The EU Council has renewed the economic sanctions imposed on Russia until 31 July 2016. The sanctions were initially imposed due to Russia’s military involvement in Ukraine and then prolonged because of Russia’s non-compliance with terms of the Minsk agreements. The EU indicated that the Minsk agreements should be fully implemented before sanctions are lifted.
In sum, the EU economic sanctions against Russia include:
- The prohibition to provide assistance in relation to the issuing of certain financial instruments;
- Restrictions on financial transactions with major Russian state banks;
- A restriction to access the EU capital markets for some Russian entities;
- An embargo on the import and export of arms and related material from and to Russia;
- A ban on the export to Russia of certain energy-exploration equipment; and
- A prohibition to provide certain services related to oil exploration and production in waters deeper than 150 meters or in the offshore area north of the Arctic Circle, and projects that have the potential to produce oil from resources located in shale formations by way of hydraulic fracturing.
The official EU Council press release can be found: here