The heads of state and government of the EU met on 16 July in Brussels. The original goal was to nominate persons for top EU posts for the next institutional cycle, namely the president of the European Council and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. After discussions, the European Council agreed to reconvene on 30 August on another special meeting, since agreement was not found. In the light of the recent developments in Ukraine, foreign policy was the main focus of the European Council, after all. The leaders adopted another round of targeted sanctions against Russia, the most important of which is suspending investment support of the European Investment Bank for projects in Russia. Concerning Crimea, the leaders tasked the EEAS to come up with restrictive measures on investments. The European Council also recalled its past decision to adopt economic sanctions should Russia fail to contribute meaningfully to the deescallation of the situation in Ukraine. Later on, the leaders discussed also the new round of violence in Gaza and called on both parties to settle the dispute peacefully.

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