EU Delays Russia Sanctions Amid Retaliation Fear, Cease-Fire

European Union governments abruptly put on hold new sanctions against Russia, highlighting hopes that a cease-fire in Ukraine will endure without extra penalties that risk further trade retaliation by the Kremlin.

The EU’s second package of economic penalties against Russia was delayed today in Brussels by the bloc’s 28 national governments, which approved the measures in principle while stopping short of giving the green light for their publication in the Official Journal and entry into force. The suspended provisions include barring some Russian state-owned defense and energy companies from raising capital in the EU, according to a European official who spoke on the usual condition of anonymity.