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Crimea and Sevastopol

EU extends sanctions against Crimea, Sevastopol

A source says the EU has extended for another year its unilateral sanctions against Crimea and Sevastopol

© AP Photo/Yves Logghe

BRUSSELS, June 18. /TASS/. The European Union has extended for another year its unilateral sanctions against Crimea and Sevastopol, a source in the EU bodies told reporters on Monday.

"The Council of the European Union extended sanctions against Crimea and Sevastopol for 12 months," the source said. The decision was made at a meeting of the agriculture and fisheries ministers of the 28 EU member-states in Luxembourg.

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The sanctions were extended for another year without any discussion, just by approving a decision earlier agreed by the EU countries’ permanent representatives. The restrictions were imposed in the framework of the EU’s strategy on refusing to recognize Crimea’s reunification with Russia.

The Crimea-related sanctions include a ban on importing any Crimean goods, any European investments in Crimea, including buying real estate, financing businesses, providing services, including in tourism sector. European vessels are banned from entering Crimean ports, and aircraft cannot land at Crimea’s airports, except for emergency situations.

The export to Crimea of goods and technologies in transport, telecommunications, energy, oil production and refining and natural resources production sectors is banned. It is also prohibited to provide any technical services to companies that work in these sectors.

The EU’s sanctions policy against Russia includes three independent tracks: visa restrictions against Russian citizens, economic sectoral sanctions against a number of Russian state companies in oil, defense and financial sectors, and also restrictions against Crimea. All these packages were introduced in 2014. Two first sanctions packages are extended once in six months, and the restrictions against Crimea - once per a year.

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Crimea and Sevastopol

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