The European Council has this evening confirmed that it has agreed on further restrictive measures that will impose “massive and severe consequences on Russia” for its action, in close coordination with our partners and allies. According to the Council conclusions, these sanctions cover the financial sector, the energy and transport sectors, dual-use goods, as well as export control and export financing, visa policy, additional listings of Russian individuals and new listing criteria. Fuller details will…
On 23 February 2022, the Council adopted a package of measures to respond to Russia’s decision to recognize the non-government controlled areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of Ukraine as independent entities, and the subsequent decision to send Russian troops into these areas. The package consists of the measures outlined below. Targeted restrictive measures Within the existing framework for sanctions, the EU has designated all the 351 members of the Russian State Duma, who…
On 21 December 2021, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) issued its judgment in Bank Melli Iran (C-124/20), which we have previously written about here. The judgment relates to the application of the EU Blocking Regulation (Regulation (EC) No 2271/96). The Blocking Regulation prohibits EU businesses from complying with certain extraterritorial US sanctions targeting Iran and Cuba. In many Member States, breaches of the Blocking Regulation can expose you to criminal penalties, albeit…
On December 2, 2021, the EU, UK, US, and Canada all imposed additional coordinated sanctions on Belarus as a punitive action against the government led by President Alexander Lukashenko, which has been accused of human rights violations and creating a migrant crisis at Belarusian borders. As further described below, the sanctions included the designation of a number of parties (individuals and entities), whilst certain individuals will also be subject to travel bans preventing them entering…