The EU summit has extended all sanctions against Russia by six months, until July 31, 2026. This was announced by European Council President António Costa at a press conference after the first day of the EU summit.
“We have decided to extend the sanctions against Russia“, he said.
All 19 previously adopted packages of sanctions against Russia are being extended simultaneously every six months, until January 31 and July 31 of each year.
Unblocking Russia's frozen assets in the EU is now only possible with a qualified majority of votes of EU countries at the summit of EU.
This was announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at a press conference after the meeting.
„Previously, Russia's assets in the EU could be unfrozen if at least one EU country refused to extend the freeze. Now, Russian assets are frozen until Russia pays reparations. Their unfreezing is now possible only with a qualified majority of the votes of EU countries,“ von der Leyen said.
The qualified majority in the EU requires 60% of EU countries (16 out of 27), where more than 55% of the EU population lives, to vote “in favor“.
Hungarian Prime Minister Orban called the EU loan to Ukraine “wasted money”, Reuters reported.