Council of European Union approves proposed 6-month extension of individual anti-Russian sanctions
BRUSSELS. Sept 15 (Interfax) - The Council of the European Union decided in a written procedure on Thursday to approve the proposal coordinated by EU ambassadors on September 7 and to extend for six months (until March 15, 2017) individual sanctions against 146 Russian and Ukrainian individuals and 37 legal entities.
The list includes persons whom the European Union deems to be responsible for the breach of Ukraine's territorial integrity and the damage done to its sovereignty. A freeze was put on their assets in EU banks and they were denied visas for visiting EU countries.
A communique of the Council of the European Union, which announced the decision, said that the measures were enacted in March 2014 and previously extended in March 2016.
In the opinion of the Council of the European Union, the Ukraine situation gives no reason to alter the sanctions regime either for individuals or for legal entities.
The legal acts will be published by the Official Journal of the European Union on September 16, 2016, and will immediately take effect.