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The Committee of Permanent Representatives of the EU (COREPER) approved without discussion an extension for 12 months of restrictive measures against the Crimea and Sevastopol in the framework of the policy of non-recognition of the reunification of the peninsula with Russia. It was announced on Wednesday by a source in Brussels.
"The decision was made without discussion. The official extension will be approved by the Council next week," he said. According to him, the EU Council will also not have any discussion of this topic, the sanctions will be automatically extended by a “written procedure”, that is, without an open vote.
Let us remember, the policy of non-recognition of the reunification of the Crimea with Russia was approved in June, 2014. It obliges all EU countries not to allow political recognition of reunification, to renounce any economic contacts with the Crimea, to prevent their merchant ships from entering the Crimean ports and their aircraft at from landing at the local airports, except for emergency situations. In addition, a ban was on the trade of the EU states with the Crimea on almost any kind of goods - the sanctions list covers more than 100 pages and includes all imaginable categories, from sea salt to spacecraft.
Sanctions in the framework of the non-recognition of the Crimea-is one of the three existing and constantly renewable EU sanctions packages against Russia. It is only renewed once a year, usually in mid-June. This sanctions track is not related to the implementation of the Minsk agreements, no mechanism for its cancellation is specified in the EU documents.
The remaining two sanctions packages are the black list of legal entities and individuals who are banned from entering the EU and access to the banking system of the community countries, and sectoral economic sanctions against state banks, oil industry enterprises and the defense complex. The black list is extended in March and September, sectoral sanctions in July and January. The lifting of sectoral sanctions in March 2015, the EU explained by the full implementation of the Minsk agreements, while in subsequent years, the EU completely ignored the sabotage of these agreements by Kiev.
Russkiy Mir
