The European Union has endorsed a decision to renew sanctions introduced in response to the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by the Russian Federation for a further year until June 23, 2022.

The decision was taken on Monday in Brussels at a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council without discussion. These sanctions are renewed for a period of one year.

The restrictive measures currently in place include target EU imports of products originating in Crimea or Sevastopol, and infrastructural or financial investments and tourism services in Crimea or Sevastopol. Exports of certain goods and technologies to Crimean companies or for use in Crimea in the transport, telecommunications and energy sectors or for the prospection, exploration and production of oil, gas and mineral resources are also subject to EU restrictions.

The EU does not recognize the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by the Russian Federation and continues to condemn this violation of international law, in line with the declaration by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on behalf of the EU on 16 March 2020.

Sanctions were first introduced in June 2014 in response to the attempts to deliberately undermine Ukraine's territorial integrity and destabilize the country. Other EU measures in place in response to the crisis in Ukraine include economic sanctions targeting specific sectors of the Russian economy and individual restrictive measures.