The European Union has passed eight packages of economic and individual sanctions on Russia and on individuals involved the invasion of Ukraine (European Council). The economic sanctions, which have been extended multiple times since the first round of restrictive measures was passed in 2014, are set to expire on 31 January 2023 (European Council). While some are calling for a ninth package of sanctions (Politico), others worry that European support of Ukraine may wane as the war drags on (Atlantic Council, NYT).

Resolution Criteria:

Question will resolve as “yes” if sanctions from entire sectors (e.g., financial, energy, defense, transport, raw materials, services) are revoked or if sanctions on entire industries are revoked (e.g., “prohibition of imports from Russia of coal” or “SWIFT ban for certain Belarusan or Russian Banks”), or if any sector or industry sanctions are left to expire on 31 Jan 2023. See the “Economic Sanctions” section of the European Council’s Restrictive Measures Document for the sectors (highlighted in bold) and industries (delineated by bullets under the bold sections) currently covered. Small or administrative revisions to existing sanctions that do not impact a whole industry/sector will not count (e.g., lifting sanctions from one Russian bank but leaving them in place on others).

Issued on 12/21/22 04:03pm
A sanction must be fully lifted for this question to resolve as "yes". If a sanction is only partially lifted such that sanctions of that type against that industry still exist (e.g., lightening some restrictions on coal imports, but keeping broader "prohibitions on imports from Russia of coal"), this would be considered a change to existing sanctions and the question would resolve "no" if no other sanctions are revoked or left to expire.