BRUSSELS –
The European Union has Wednesday the economic sanctions against Russia formally extended by six months to January 31, 2018. This, the member states agreed, after German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Emmanuel Macron last week, EU leaders at a summit in Brussels were briefed about the state of affairs in Ukraine.
The penalties were set because of the Russian interference in the east of Ukraine in 2014. The sanctions are linked to the conditions in the Minsk agreement, including the withdrawal of troops and heavy weapons. There, the warring parties are still not on.
The assets in the EU of Russians on a blacklist that are frozen and their travel bans to the EU remains in force. The European capital market remains shut for a number of Russian banks and energy and defence companies. Also the export of technologically sensitive goods to Russia remains limited.