The restrictive measures placed on the Russian Federation by the European Union in response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine have been extended for a further six months, until 31 January 2025, the EU Council has confirmed.
These sanctions, first introduced in 2014, were significantly expanded since February 2022 in response to Russia’s unprovoked, unjustified and illegal military aggression against Ukraine, the council said in a statement.
They consist of a broad spectrum of sectoral measures, including restrictions on trade, finance, technology and dual-use goods, industry, transport and luxury goods.
“As long as the illegal actions by the Russian Federation continue to violate the prohibition on the use of force, which is a serious breach of obligations under international law, it is appropriate to maintain in force all the measures imposed by the EU and to take additional measures, if necessary,” the statement said.
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 Ukraine in the oblasts of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia.
Since 24 February 2022, the EU has adopted 14 packages of sanctions in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
According to the European Commission, since February 2022, the EU has banned over €43.9 billion in goods that would have been exported to Russia and €91.2 billion in goods that would have been imported from Russia. The bans are implemented by the EU’s customs authorities.
Moreover, the EU, in collaboration with other like-minded partners, has adopted a statement reserving the right to stop treating Russia as a most-favoured-nation within the WTO framework. The EU has decided to act on this not by increasing import tariffs, but by establishing a set of restrictive measures that include bans on the import or export of certain goods.
Seafood is among the goods that cannot be imported from Russia to the EU.
In its conclusions dated 27 June 2024, the European Council reiterated its continued support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders and reconfirmed the EU’s unwavering commitment to providing continued political, financial, economic, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support to Ukraine. The European Council also strongly condemned the recent escalation of hostilities by Russia, in particular the further intensified attacks against civilians and civilian and critical infrastructure, especially in the energy sector.
