EU agrees to extend Russian sanctions

As predicted in our earlier blog, on Friday 18 December 2015, EU leaders agreed to extend the current sanctions measures against Russia by a further 6 months. The sanctions were due to expire at the end of January 2016 and will now continue until the end of July 2016.

The decision was formally taken by the EU Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper), following a two-day meeting in Brussels, at which Coreper linked any removal of sanctions to the successful implementation of the Minsk peace deal. Unless there is a formal objection in writing from any of the 28 member states, the extension will be implemented at 11am GMT on Monday 21 December 2015.