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 from the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy,
Whereas:
(1)
On 31 July 2014, the Council adopted Decision 2014/512/CFSP.
(2)
On 19 March 2015, the European Council agreed that the necessary measures would be taken to clearly link the duration of the restrictive measures to the complete implementation of the Minsk agreements, bearing in mind that the complete implementation was foreseen for 31 December 2015.
(3)
On 1 July 2016, the Council renewed Decision 2014/512/CFSP until 31 January 2017 in order to enable it to further assess the implementation of the Minsk agreements.
(4)
Having assessed the implementation of the Minsk agreements, Decision 2014/512/CFSP should be renewed for a further 6 months in order to enable the Council to further assess their implementation.
(5)
Decision 2014/512/CFSP should therefore be amended accordingly,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: