EU extends Russia sanctions, plans deeper cooperation with Ukraine

The EU Council announced on Dec. 19 its decision to extend its economic sanctions against Russia until July 31. These sanctions were first imposed on July 31, 2014 for military interference in occupied Donbas, enhanced in September that year and linked to the fulfillment of the Minsk Accords on March 9, 2015, the epravda.com.ua news site reported. 

The Ukrainian and EU governments were planning to sign at the Dec. 19 Ukraine-EU Association council meeting about 10 agreements on cooperation, Ukrainian Representative to the EU Mykola Tochytskiy told the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty news agency. Among these agreements are to reform the state administration system, to finance programs of border cooperation and to issue EBRD loans to finance higher education.

Zenon Zawada: Among the benefits to the rise in nationalism and isolationism in the West is that it has prompted Western governments to act more assertively in taking integration and cooperation measures with Ukraine. Although this meeting had been scheduled, the measures considered are part of a rush of measures being taken by the U.S. and the EU ahead of U.S. President-elect Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration.

As for the sanctions, we’ve mentioned that we expect them to be renewed until the second half of next year. At that point however, it’s quite possible that Trump will begin to lead an initiative in the West to remove the sanctions imposed against Russia, in exchange for agreements that it will not invade or interfere any further in Ukraine. It’s possible that by that time, populist-nationalist parties will have enough influence in European political bodies to follow his lead.