The European Council has spoken! We must all come back on Thursday after it has considered its approach to fresh sanctions against Russia. The communiqué from today’s meeting of the Council is full of fine ambition: albeit ambition that was agreed on 18 July. We are promised an extended list of:
‘…entities and persons, including from the Russian Federation…who actively provide material and financial support to or are benefiting from the Russian decision makers from the annexation of Crimea or the destabilisation of Eastern Ukraine, and to adopt additional measures to restrict trade with and investment in Crimea and Sebastopol, at the latest by the end of July.’
After that verbiage the communiqué says:
‘The Council recalls the previous commitments of the European Council and remains ready to introduce without delay a further package of further significant restrictive measures if full and immediate co-operation on the above mentioned demands fail to materialise.’
The demands include the arrest of those responsible for the destruction of MH17, and that Russia uses its influence to secure access to the crash site and the cessation of the flow of arms, equipment and militants from Russia to eastern Ukraine.
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