Von der Leyen Insists EU Sanctions on Russia Must Remain Until War Ends

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has stated that the European Union's sanctions on Russia will stay in force until the war concludes. The position reinforces the EU executive's stance that European economic measures cannot be dismantled or scaled back while military aggression continues.

Sanctions are the bloc's primary economic instrument in external affairs. For businesses and citizens, their continuation preserves sweeping prohibitions on trade, technology transfers, and financial dealings. Clarifying that sanctions remain tethered to the end of the conflict establishes a firm benchmark, signalling that commercial relations will not see selective normalisation while the war persists.

In the institutional machinery, sanctions are formally designated as restrictive measures. Although the European Commission drafts and oversees the implementation of these packages, it cannot enforce or extend them unilaterally. Under EU treaties, Common Foreign and Security Policy measures require unanimity among all 27 member states meeting in the Council of the European Union. Crucially, sanctions regimes do not run indefinitely; they operate on a rolling clock, requiring unanimous re-authorisation by member states every six months. This mechanism hands each national government recurring leverage to seek exemptions or contest renewals during negotiations in Brussels.

The Council must continue to vote unanimously at every six-month renewal cycle to keep the existing sanctions packages in force. National diplomats and Commission officials will need to navigate these recurring legal deadlines to ensure unanimity holds without lapsing.