EU extends restrictions on business in Crimean Peninsula

By The Associated Press

BRUSSELS – The European Union said Monday it has extended restrictions on doing business with companies or officials in Ukraine’s Crimea region and the city of Sevastopol for a year over Russia’s annexation of the peninsula.

EU headquarters said in a statement that the measures, which include bans on importing products and real estate purchases, were extended until June 23, 2019.

The restrictions also bar European investment in Crimea or Sevastopol and operating any tourism services there. The export of some goods and technologies that could be used for transport, telecommunications or in the energy sector — particularly oil, gas or mineral exploration — are prohibited as well.

The measures form part of a package of sanctions imposed against Russia after it annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, and refuses to recognize Moscow’s authority there. Asset freezes and travel bans also have been enforced against some Crimea officials.

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This story has been corrected to show that the EU extended restrictions on doing business in the Crimean Peninsula because of Russia’s annexation, but didn’t extend existing sanctions on Russia.

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