Five countries agreed to strengthen control over sanctions against Russia

Poland , Finland and the Baltic countries have signed an agreement to strengthen the monitoring of EU sanctions against Russia and the exchange of relevant information, Finnish customs reported .

The document was signed in Vilnius the day before, on May 9 .

The agreement stipulates the strengthening of unified sanctions control, the importance of information exchange and coordinated measures to intervene in the detection of routes to circumvent restrictions.

In addition, the document contains provisions on joint actions to monitor the obligations of manufacturers and exporters of goods, such as the provision of additional documentation. It also outlines other steps aimed at preventing sanctions from being circumvented.

Finland has worked closely with EU border states from the very beginning and has emphasized the need to introduce “unified sanctions control” at the level of the entire union, said Finnish Customs Director General Sami Rakshit.

“With the agreement signed today, we want to show other states and companies the importance of close cooperation for effective sanctions control, and also contribute to increasing the effectiveness of sanctions,” he said.

The EU countries and other Western states imposed sanctions against Russia after the start of the military operation in Ukraine . They provide for restrictions on the import of many categories of goods, including dual-use products. Trade turnover between Russia and the EU at the end of 2023 alone fell almost three times compared to 2022 - to €88.9 billion. The Russian Foreign Ministry did not rule out that by the end of 2024 it could drop to €50 billion.

Russian authorities consider the sanctions imposed against Moscow illegal.