EU Foreign Affairs Council agrees on further sanctions following attacks on Mariupol

EU Foreign Ministers condemned the violation of ceasefire and the armed attacks by separatists on civilians in Mariupol. Latvia was represented at the Foreign Affairs Council by the Parliamentary State Secretary for EU Affairs, Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica; she emphasised that the EU should use diplomacy and appropriate sanctions to end the violence.

The EU's Foreign Affairs Council made a decision to extend existing restrictive measures against persons and entities that have undermined Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Council called on the European External Action Service to present a proposal on additional listings within the next week. The Ministers also asked the European Commission to prepare proposals for further sanctions. The Ministers reiterated the need to make every effort to return to the implementation of the Minsk agreements.

In light of the unprecedented propaganda and disinformation campaign waged by Russia, the Ministers concluded that the EU strategic communication must be enhanced. Ministers tasked EU services to establish a special communications team. The EU's ambition is to provide, in a proactive manner, truthful information, thereby responding to outright lies and disinformation with facts as well as facilitating the steady development of an independent media.