EU Mulls New Russia Sanctions Over Crimea, Denmark Says

The European Union is considering stepping up its restrictions on business with Crimea to make clear that the bloc doesn’t accept Russia’s annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula, Danish Foreign Minister Martin Lidegaard said.

The EU aims to maintain its existing sanctions regime in general, Lidegaard said in a telephone interview today. Current sanctions need time to take their full effect and therefore there is no need to move to a more intense phase, he said. At the same time, there are steps the EU can take to increase its pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin over Ukraine, he said.