The European Union Council of Ministers extended by a year on Monday sanctions against several officials in the Moldavian breakaway region of Transdnestr.
The sanctions, aimed at settling the Transdnestr conflict, will be in place until September 30, 2011, the council's statement said.
They will also help resolve the remaining problems with the region's education system and promote free travel.
Nineteen Transdnestr officials, including the region's leader Igor Smirnov, were first sanctioned in 2003 for failing to make any progress in easing tensions in the Transdnestr region and for forcing several schools to close over the use of Latin alphabet to teach Moldovan.
The Russian-speaking region of Transdnestr has been de facto independent from Moldova since the 1992 war, which erupted from a buildup of tensions following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
BRUSSELS, September 27 (RIA Novosti)
