EU agrees to extend sanctions against Russia for 6 months
Editor's Note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
The European Union on June 26 reached an agreement to extend sanctions against Russia for another six months, an undisclosed EU official told the Kyiv Independent.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed the agreement shortly afterwards in a joint press conference alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa at the EU summit in Brussels.
The EU made the decision on June 26 to extend its current sanctions against Russia for six more months, Tusk said.
"We still have a decision about the 18th sanctions package ahead of us," he added.
The EU votes to renew its sectoral sanctions against Russia every six months in January and July. Sanctions encompass a broad array of economic areas, including restrictions on trade, finance, technology and dual-use goods, industry, transport, and luxury goods.
The latest agreement comes amid fears that Hungary, one of the bloc's most Kremlin-friendly member states, would attempt to block the extension. Hungary has repeatedly threatened to use its veto power to obstruct the sanctions process.
The European bloc first adopted sanctions related to Russian aggression on July 31, 2014, after Moscow occupied Crimea and invaded Ukraine's eastern Donbas region. The EU has significantly scaled up its sanctions measures in the wake of the full-scale invasion, adopting 17 major sanctions packages since February 2022.
The EU on June 10 unveiled its 18th package of sanctions against Russia, expanding current measures to include new restrictions on energy, banking, oil, and other sectors. The initial proposal included banning transactions involving the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines and reducing the oil price cap from $60 to $45 per barrel.
Soon after the package was announced, however, the EU reportedly postponed the effort to reduce the oil price cap.
The 18th round of sanctions is currently under debate. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, another Moscow-friendly European leader, has threatened to veto the package. Slovakia has not previously attempted to block EU sanctions against Russia.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
