The Council of the EU announced on 19 June 2015 that it has extended the applicability of EU sanctions concerning Russia's annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol. The measures will now remain in force until 23 June 2016, unless revoked or renewed. The Crimea and Sevastopol sanctions were introduced by Regulation 692/2014 on 23 June 2014 and had been due to expire on the anniversary of their introduction, pursuant to Article 5 of Council Decision 2014/386/CFSP.
Please see our previous update, available here, regarding Regulation 692/2014 for further details of the Crimea and Sevastopol restrictions.
Broadly, the restrictions (among other things) prohibit EU-domiciled companies and EU nationals from engaging in or facilitating:
- the import into the EU of products originating in or having undergone their last substantial reprocessing in Crimea or Sevastopol;
- investment in Crimea or Sevastopol;
- provision of tourism services in Crimea or Sevastopol; European cruise ships are prohibited from calling at ports in the region, except in case of emergency;
- export of certain goods and technologies to Crimean companies or for use in Crimea in the transport, telecommunications and energy sectors.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
