The Middle East is an increasingly important jurisdiction for Western governments from a Russia sanctions foreign policy perspective, as there is a perception that increased trade flows between the Middle East and Russia means that Western sanctions are effectively being circumvented. Companies in the Middle East may have concerns about triggering EU / UK / US sanctions jurisdiction, or being directly designated by Western governments for engaging in activities deemed to be contrary to the…
On 29 June 2024, the EU adopted a new Belarus sanctions package by amending Council Regulation (EU) 765/2006 (the âEU Belarus Sanctionsâ), effective from 1 July 2024. The amending regulation can be found here. The new package increases the alignment of the EU Belarus Sanctions with the EUâs sanctions against Russia (including those contained in Regulation (EU) 833/2014 (the âEU Russia Sanctionsâ), as recently updated), in order to address the risk of circumvention. The new…
On June 24, 2024, the EU adopted its 14th Russia sanctions package, including by amending Council Regulation (EU) 833/2014 (the “EU Russia Sanctions”), effective from June 25, 2024. The amending regulation is accessible here. The 14th package introduced several additional restrictions across different sectors, including: The strengthening of measures designed to prevent the circumvention of EU sanctions is likely to be particularly wide-ranging, impacting businesses outside Russia with indirect exposure to Russia and placing certain…
On Monday 27 May 2024, the EU established a new sanctions framework for the implementation of restrictive measures against those responsible for serious human rights violations or abuses, for the accelerating and systematic repression of civil society and democratic opposition, and for undermining democracy and the rule of law in Russia. As set out in Council Decision (CFSP) 2024/1484 and Council Regulation (EU) 2024/1485 (âRussia Human Rights Regulationâ). In its press release (here), the European…