The 27-member European Union voted Monday to ban imports of Iranian oil, and to sanction some transactions with Iran’s Central Bank.

The action, passed at a foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels, immediately bans EU member states from signing any new oil contracts with Iran, and orders the phasing out of existing contracts by July 1. The EU-bloc previously constituted the second largest customer for Iranian oil after China.

“Given the EU’s serious and deepening concerns over the Iranian nuclear programme, the Council today broadened the EU’s restrictive measures against that country,” the European Union said in a statement (.pdf) announcing the action. “Today’s decisions target the sources of finance for the nuclear programme, complementing already existing sanctions.”. . .