On Tuesday 21 June, ambassadors of EU member states made a preliminary decision to extend economic sanctions against Russia for another 6 months until the end of January 2017. The decision has to be approved by the national ministers of foreign affairs in the Council. One of the diplomats said that "It does not seem to require a discussion on this topic at the European Council next week." Therefore, it is expected the approval decision will be taken unanimously next Friday, at a meeting in Luxembourg.

A country that may raise an objection is France. At the beginning of June, the Senate called for the gradual removal of sanctions.The EU introduced economic sanctions against Russia in summer 2014. This was due to the escalation of the conflict in the Ukraine. Restrictions include the Russian state-owned banks,  the oil companies, and the defense industry. Sanctions have already been extended several times.

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