Eu Targets Oil, Gas İnvestment İn Crimea

The European Union imposed further sanctions on European investment in Crimea on Thursday, in attempt to prevent Russia from using Crimea to exploit Black Sea oil, according to officials.



European companies will be prohibited from exporting goods and technology that could be used by Crimean companies to explore and produce oil, gas and mineral resources. 



Investment in both Crimea and Sevastopol will be outlawed from Dec. 20 and EU companies will no longer be able to buy real estate or finance companies in Crimea, the Council said in a statement on Thursday.



The statement said: "It has also been prohibited to export certain goods and technology to Crimean companies or for use in Crimea."



"These concern the transport, telecommunications and energy sectors or the prospection, exploration and production of oil, gas and mineral resources," the statement said.



The move by the Council of the European Union is a response to Russia's annexation of Crimea – which the 28-nation bloc calls "illegal" and "illegitimate."



The Council's decision to implement further sanctions in Crimea comes on the same day as European Union leaders gather in Brussels to discuss tense relations with Russia.



The summit will be led for the first time by former Polish Prime Minister and new European Council President Donald Tusk. 



www.aa.com.tr/en - Brüksel