The Council decided to amend and introduce measures to Regulation (EU) NO 833/2014, inter alia, to:
- strengthen the prohibition on the export of dual-use goods and technology listed in Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2021/821 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4), and of goods and technology which might contribute to the technological enhancement of Russia’s defence and security sector, as listed in Annex VII to Regulation (EU) No 833/2014, to entities on the list of natural or legal persons, entities or bodies set out in Annex IV to Decision 2014/512/CFSP.
- add 53 new entities to the list of natural or legal persons, entities and bodies set out in Annex IV to Decision 2014/512/CFSP, namely the list of persons, entities and bodies supporting Russia’s military and industrial complex in its war of aggression against Ukraine, on which tighter export restrictions regarding dual-use goods and technology, as well as goods and technology which might contribute to the technological enhancement of Russia’s defence and security sector, are imposed. Decision (CFSP) 2025/394 also includes on that list certain entities in third countries other than Russia that indirectly contribute to Russia’s military and technological enhancement through the circumvention of export restrictions, including on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or missiles.
- expand the list of items which might contribute to Russia’s military and technological enhancement or to the development of its defence and security sector by listing items which have been used by Russia in its war of aggression against Ukraine and items which contribute to the development or production of its military systems, including chemical precursors to riot control agents, software related to computer numerical control (CNC) machines, chromium compounds and controllers used to guide UAVs.
- impose further restrictions on exports of goods which might contribute to the enhancement of Russian industrial capacities, such as chemicals, some plastics and rubber. In order to minimise the risk of circumvention of restrictive measures, Decision (CFSP) 2025/394 further extends the list of goods and technology subject to the prohibition on transit via the territory of Russia.
- clarify that when relevant provisions of Decision 2014/512/CFSP and of Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 empower competent authorities to authorise the sale and export, and related technical assistance, of information security systems, equipment and components, for non-military use and for a non-military end user, after having determined that such goods or technology or the related technical assistance are intended for a civilian non-publicly available electronic communications network, and provided that that network is not the property of an entity that is publicly controlled or with over 50 % public ownership, such authorisations can be granted in particular to providers of specialised financial messaging services.
- introduce further restrictions on the import of primary aluminium, which generates significant revenues for Russia, thereby enabling the continuation of its war of aggression against Ukraine. The Commission should monitor the aluminium prices relevant for Union producers and consumers linked to the import restriction and should report to the Council if any major developments occur concerning the aluminium prices relevant for Union producers and consumers linked to the import restriction on primary aluminium, as laid down in Article 3i of Regulation (EU) No 833/2014, and, where appropriate, propose mitigating measures.
- amend the derogation from the prohibition on purchasing, importing or transferring certain items which generate significant revenues for Russia and which are necessary for the operation, maintenance or repair of Budapest metro line 3 cars. It also introduces a new targeted derogation from the prohibition on importing certain items that are strictly necessary for the operation of the Druzhba Pipeline.
- specifically limit the application of an exemption to the flight ban on manned aircraft by introducing the need for an authorisation by the competent authorities to allow the landing in, taking off from and overflying the territory of the Union for certain drone operations. In order to increase the cost on Russia of its continuing war of aggression against Ukraine, and to ensure the effectiveness of Union restrictive measures which target the aviation sector by addressing the risk of their frustration, Decision (CFSP) 2025/394 also extends the flight ban to listed air carriers operating domestic flights within Russia or selling, supplying, transferring or exporting, directly or indirectly, aircraft or other aviation goods and technology to a Russian air carrier or for flights within Russia, as well as to any entity owned or controlled by such air carrier.
- impose further restriction on exports of goods and technology, in particular software related to oil and gas exploration, in order to further restrict Russia’s oil and gas exploration and production capacities.
- provide for a derogation for the sale, supply, transfer or export from Slovakia to Hungary or from Hungary to Slovakia of certain petroleum products as listed in Annex XXXI to Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 which are obtained from crude oil imported by pipeline, in order to ensure security of supply to those landlocked countries.
- introduce a prohibition on the provision of temporary storage for Russian crude oil and petroleum products within the Union, irrespective of the purchase price of the oil and of the final destination of those products. Such a prohibition will inflict additional costs on the transport of Russian oil thereby reducing Russian revenues.
- clarify that reloading services for the purposes of transshipment operations of Russian LNG are allowed if necessary for its transport between ports of the same Member State, including from the mainland of a Member State to its outermost regions.
- amend the prohibition on the transport of goods by road within the territory of the Union, including in transit, by operators that are owned for 25 % or more by a Russian natural or legal person. Entities established in the Union before 8 April 2022 and already operating as road transport undertakings should be prohibited from making any changes to their capital structure that would increase the percentage share owned by a Russian natural or legal person, entity or body, unless that percentage share remains below 25 % following such a change.
- extend that prohibition to the completion of crude oil projects in Russia, such as the Vostok oil project. That should not affect the purchase and import of Russian crude oil in line with temporary exceptions for specific landlocked Member States.
- introduce a derogation from the prohibition that can be granted by a Member State that is not connected to the interconnected natural gas system when the LNG is purchased, imported or transferred from a terminal located in another Member State that is connected to the interconnected natural gas system in order to ensure its energy supply.
- require imports of rough diamonds to be accompanied by a certificate pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 2368/2002 in which the country of mining origin or the countries of mining origin are clearly stated. Decision (CFSP) 2025/394 also postpones the date of entry into force of the requirement to provide traceability-based evidence for imports of polished diamonds. Furthermore, addressing governance issues associated with the traceability system will require ongoing cooperation with the G7 and third countries. In order to further the facilitation of the implementation of those measures and continued engagement with the G7 and third countries, continued monitoring of the level playing field among G7 partners with regard to diamond-related measures should be conducted.
- introduce a prohibition on the provision of construction services, including civil engineering works.
- clarify that the sale, license or transfer in any other way of intellectual property rights or trade secrets related to that software is prohibited.
The full list of amendments can be found in the Regulation link above.