Following its meeting today, the European Council has asked the European External Action Services (EEAS) and the European Commission to identify further separatists for designation by the end of November. While there is no further reference in its conclusions to the EU’s existing sanctions, the European Council states it will “continue to closely follow the situation on the ground and will act accordingly.”
Notably, the European Council urges the full implementation of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum. Referring to Russia’s responsibility for recent events, it refers to “the recent heavy shelling and by reports about convoys moving in the separatist held areas with substantial amounts of heavy weapons, tanks and troops without insignia from across the Russian border” and calls for, in particular, “a halt to the continuous violations of the ceasefire, a withdrawal of all illegal and foreign forces, mercenaries and military equipment, as well as for securing the Ukrainian-Russian border with permanent monitoring by the OSCE“.
