EU Permanent Representatives Approve New Human Rights-Related Sanctions Regime, Source Says

BRUSSELS, (Sputnik) - The new EU sanctions regime for violation of human rights globally has been approved by the committee of permanent representatives of EU states (Coreper), a source in the EU told Sputnik.

The next step is its final approval at the council of foreign ministers, the source said.

In mid-November, another source noted that the sanctions regime could be approved by EU foreign ministers at the meeting on December 7.

The EU's global sanctions regime for human rights violations, which was considered to be akin to the US Magnitsky Act, has been discussed in the EU for several months. The European Commission noted that the list of possible restrictions could include the assets freeze and a ban on entry to the European Union.

EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Josep Borrell said earlier that the sanctions regime could be named after Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny. However, this regime is not directly related to Russia, the European Commission noted.