The new sanctions are scheduled to be announced tomorrow, during the European Council’s meeting, which will take place in Brussels on Thursday and Friday. The sanctions will forbid EU firms from investing in Crimea and prohibit the trade of oil and gas exploration technologies from the EU, Reuters reported.
After Crimea reunited with Russia, following a referendum in March, Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom said it would develop the region’s oil and gas resources in the Black Sea. The new sanctions will specifically target oil and gas drilling in the Black Sea, trying to limit their development in the region, according to Reuters.
In July, the EU imposed investment restrictions in certain sectors of the Crimean economy, banning all imports from the peninsula. Crimea and the city of Sevastopol reunified with Russia after a referendum held in March, when more than 96 percent of the peninsula’s population voted in favor of the move.
