The Council of the EU today decided to prolong by six months, until 31 January 2023, the restrictive measures targeting specific sectors of the economy of the Russian Federation, according to the organisation's release.
These sanctions, first introduced in 2014, were significantly expanded since February 2022. They currently consist of a broad spectrum of sectoral measures, including restrictions on finance, energy, technology and dual-use goods, industry, transport and luxury goods.
The EU has in place different types of measures, including: restrictions on economic relations with Crimea and the city of Sevastopol as well as the non-Ukraine controlled areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts; individual restrictive measures (asset freezes and travel restrictions) on a broad range of individuals and entities, and diplomatic measures.
In Spring 2022, the EU adopted the fifth package of sanctions against Russia including an import ban on all forms of Russian coal (affects one fourth of all Russian coal exports, according to EC). The ban comes into effect on August 10.