Sanctions against Russia
Since March 2014, the EU has progressively imposed restrictive measures on Russia in response to the:
• illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014
• Russia’s unprecedented and unprovoked military attack against Ukraine in 2022
• the illegal annexation of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions in 2022
• The measures are designed to weaken Russia’s economic base, depriving it of critical technologies and markets and significantly curtailing its ability to wage war.
The EU has also adopted sanctions against:
• Belarus, in response to its involvement in the invasion of Ukraine
• Iran, in relation to the use of Iranian drones in the Russian aggression against Ukraine
Measures concerning economic cooperation
Restrictions on economic cooperation were introduced by EU leaders in July 2014:
the European Investment Bank (EIB) was asked to suspend the signing of new financing operations in the Russian Federation
EU member states agreed to coordinate their positions within the board of directors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) with a view to also suspending the financing of new operations
the implementation of EU bilateral and regional cooperation programmes with Russia was re-assessed and certain programmes suspended
Energy:
• prohibition on imports from Russia of coal
• prohibition on imports from Russia of oil, with limited exceptions
• price cap related to the maritime transport of oil at $60 per barrel
• prohibition on exports to Russia of goods and technologies in the oil refining sector
• prohibition on new investments in the Russian energy and mining sector
Diplomatic measures
In 2014, the EU-Russia summit was cancelled and EU member states decided not to hold regular bilateral summits with Russia. Bilateral talks with Russia on visa matters were suspended.
Instead of the G8 summit in Sochi, a G7 meeting was held – without Russia – in Brussels on 4 and 5 June 2014. Since then, meetings have continued in the G7 format.
EU countries also supported the suspension of negotiations over Russia’s joining the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the International Energy Agency (IEA).