OREANDA-NEWS. The EU Committee of Permanent Representatives approved without discussion an extension of 12 months of restrictive measures against the Crimea and Sevastopol in the framework of the policy of non-recognition of the reunification of Crimea with Russia. This was reported to journalists on Wednesday by a source in Brussels. "The decision was made without discussion. The official extension will be approved by the EU Council at ministerial level next week", he said. According to him, the EU Council won't have any discussion of this topic, the sanctions will be automatically extended by a “written procedure”, that is, without an open vote. 

The policy of non-recognition of the reunification of the Crimea with Russia was approved in June 2014. It obliges all EU countries not to allow political recognition of reunification, to renounce any economic contacts with the Crimea, to exclude the calls of their merchant ships to the Crimean ports and the landing of their aircraft at local airports, except for emergency situations. In addition, a ban has been imposed on the trade of the EU states with the Crimea on almost any kind of goods - the sanctions list covers more than 100 pages and includes all imaginable categories, from sea salt to spacecraft.

Sanctions in the framework of the non-recognition of the Crimea-is one of the three existing and constantly renewable EU sanctions packages against Russia. It's only renewed once a year, usually in mid-June. This sanctions track isn't related to the implementation of the Minsk agreements, no mechanism for its cancellation is specified in the EU documents.

The remaining two sanctions packages are the black list of legal entities and individuals who are banned from entering the EU and access to the banking system of the community countries, and sectoral economic sanctions against state banks, oil industry enterprises and the defense complex. The black list is extended in March and September, sectoral sanctions in July and January.