On Thursday, December 10, the European Union’s heads of State and Government renewed the economic sanctions against Russia for its role in the crisis in eastern Ukraine until June 30, 2021.
The EU first introduced the sanctions on July 31, 2014. The sanctions are focused on the finance, energy, and defense sectors, as well as on dual-use, civil, and military products. They also restrict Russia’s access to certain sensitive technologies and services that can be used for oil exploration and production.
The sanctions also limit access to the primary and secondary capital markets of the EU for five major Russian financial entities – Sberbank, VTB Bank, Gazprombank, Vnesheconombank, and Rosseljozbank – which have majority participation of the State, and its subsidiaries that also have a majority State participation and that are established outside the EU.