Currently, the European sanctions against Russia are still kept in force. As it has been known from reliable sources, representatives of the European Union countries left the current package of restrictive measures against Russia without any changes. "We maintain the status quo," а diplomatic officer in Brussels says. He also noted that "the possibility of sanctions’ cancellation wasn't considered at all". The situation can change after the EU summit to be held on October 23-24, 2014. However, it is necessary to bring this case to the meeting’s schedule. It should be noted that it was not done even ahead of the last meeting. Moreover, the meeting participants were deprived of similar rights. "During last meeting of the EU Committee, its representatives initially were unauthorized to make decisions on sanctions. The main task was to assess the situation in Ukraine. Meanwhile, we can state the unstable balance maintenance," а diplomatic officer in Brussels says. In September, the European Union updated the list of the Russian companies the restrictions were imposed on. These sanctions affected the oil sector (Rosneft, Transneft and Gazprom neft companies), the defense industry (Uralvagonzavod, Oboronprom) and the United Aircraft Corporation. There were five Russian banks in the sanctions list such as Sberbank, VTB, Gazprombank, Vnesheconombank and Rosselkhozbank. The EU residents will not be able to provide them with loans as well as to conduct transactions with new issues of bonds and other securities with maturities over 30 days. In the previous package of sanctions the restrictions revolved around securities with maturities over 90 days.
