Council extends Russia sanctions for six months

As expected, the member states' foreign affairs ministers decided, on 22 June, to formally extend , until 31 January 2016, the economic sanctions that were introduced in response to Russia's destabilising role in Eastern Ukraine. In the run-up to the decision, there had been reports of dissent from some member states but in the end, given the lack of improvement on the ground in Eastern Ukraine, the decision was taken unanimously without debate. The extension follows the political guidelines adopted…