EU ambassadors agreed to extend sanctions against Russia for a full year – media reports
At a meeting in Brussels, the ambassadors of the European Union member states agreed to extend sectoral economic restrictions against the Russian Federation for one year. This decision was made in accordance with the political will of the European Council leaders, as approved during the summit on June 18.
This was reported by the Ukrinform news agency, citing an anonymous source among senior European officials. The source noted that during the meeting, diplomats agreed to launch a written procedure for the final approval of this measure at the level of the Council of the EU.
Ministers from all 27 member states of the bloc are expected to complete the vote by 11:00 a.m. Brussels time on Thursday. In the event of full unanimity, the regulatory act will enter into force immediately upon official publication.
Source: Ukrinform.
As a reminder, at the summit in Brussels on June 18, the European Union decided for the first time to extend sanctions against Russia not for the standard six months, but for a full year. In doing so, the EU is departing from its previous practice of regularly reviewing sanctions every six months.
The EU Council is expected to officially approve the new sanctions package in the coming weeks, according to Deutsche Welle.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, during which the parties discussed Ukraine’s integration into the European Union and strengthening the protection of Ukrainian airspace.
The European Commission plans to propose on June 16 the opening of the first cluster of negotiations on the accession of Ukraine and Moldova to the European Union.
