OREANDA-NEWS. Permanent representatives of the 27 member states of the European Union have agreed to extend for one year the restrictive measures against Crimea and Sevastopol as part of a policy of not recognizing the reunification of the peninsula with Russia.

TASS correspondent was informed about this on June 10 by a source in the EU Council. According to the diplomat, the Council will formally approve this decision next week, after which it will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and will enter into force.

The EU imposed sanctions on Russia in connection with events in Ukraine during 2014. The Union’s policy includes three directions: visa restrictions against Russian citizens, economic sectoral sanctions against a number of Russian state-owned companies in the oil, defense and financial industries, as well as restrictive measures against Crimea itself. The first two blocks are renewed after every six months, and prohibitive measures against the Republic of Crimea – once a year.