EU makes sanctions circumvention a crime

Now the European Commission will have to develop a directive that will define the criminal offenses related to the circumvention of sanctions and the penalties for them. The EU has imposed eight packages of sanctions against Russia,

The Council of the EU unanimously approved the inclusion of violations of sanctions measures in the list of crimes against the European Union, according to the website of the legislature.

“The inclusion of violations of restrictive measures in the list of “EU crimes” is the first of two steps aimed at ensuring the same degree of application of sanctions throughout the EU and preventing attempts to circumvent or violate restrictions,” the message says.

USApresented a national security strategy with measures against circumvention of sanctions Politics

The next step, the Council of the EU noted, will be the proposal by the European Commission of a directive that will describe crimes related to the circumvention of sanctions and penalties for them. Then it will be discussed by the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament.

At the end of May, the European Commission came up with a proposal to consider the circumvention of sanctions as a crime against the European Union. The measure aims to guarantee the "virtual confiscation" of the assets of individuals and entities that violate the sanctions measures.

The EC proposed to consider the circumvention of sanctions a crime against the European Union Politics

Since the beginning of the Russian special operation in Ukraine, the EU has already introduced eight packages of sanctions. They include restrictions on Russian banks, businessmen, a ban on the import of Russian coal, an oil embargo, export restrictions, and others. Last week, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that work on the ninth package of sanctions was "in full swing". Politico wrote that the main measure under the ninth package could be a large-scale expansion of the list of individuals subject to EU sanctions .

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The Russian authorities have repeatedly stated that they consider the sanctions illegal. President Putin called the restrictions "crazy and thoughtless."