Introductory text

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Article 29 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy,

Whereas:

On 17 March 2014, the Council adopted Decision 2014/145/CFSP^f1.

On 23 December 2019, the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, announced the opening of a railway bridge over the Kerch Strait, which marked the implementation of the broader project of connecting the railway infrastructures of the illegally annexed Crimean Peninsula and those of Russia.

The Union does not recognise the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by the Russian Federation. The construction of the bridge and railway tracks connecting it to the pre‐existing transport infrastructure aims at consolidating the Russian Federation’s control over the illegally annexed Crimea and Sevastopol and further isolating the peninsula from Ukraine.

The Council considers that four entities and two individuals should be added to the list of persons, entities and bodies subject to restrictive measures as set out in the Annex to Decision 2014/145/CFSP for their role in designing, building or using the railway infrastructure linking Russia and the illegally annexed Crimean peninsula.

The Annex to Decision 2014/145/CFSP should therefore be amended accordingly,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: