Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko by its decree has enacted the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of September 17, according to which European journalists have been removed from the sanction list.

"Enact the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of September 17, 2015 on amending supplement 1 to the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of September 2, 2105 on the application of personal special economic and other restrictive measures (sanctions)," reads the decree of September 18.

The decree takes effect from the moment of its publication.

Earlier, NSDC backed Poroshenko's proposal to remove European journalists from the blacklist.

"Bearing in mind the broad public response and the strategic importance of relations with the European Union, the Ukrainian NSDC has backed the proposal made by the president of Ukraine to lift the sanctions against European journalists," the NSDC press service reported on Thursday.

The council explained that its September 2 decision imposes sanctions on foreign citizens "whose activities or public remarks abetted terrorist manifestations on the territory of Ukraine and misinformed the international community about events on the occupied territories, as well as those who illegally crossed the state border of Ukraine seeking to enter the occupied territory."

"For example, Spanish citizen Cesar Vidal acted as an observer at an illegal referendum and made remarks describing Ukraine as an artificial state. In particular, he claimed that "this is an artificial nation which is called Ukraine and is used as a weapon to threaten the Kremlin"," NSDC said.

Those to be removed from Ukraine's sanctions list include UK journalists Anton Chicherov, Emma Wells and Steve Rosenberg, Spain's Manuel Angel Sastre and Antonio Jose Rodriguez Pampliega, as well as German citizen Michael Rutz.