Background The European Union continues to expand its sanctions regime against Russia and Belarus. The latest – the 18th – EU Russia/Belarus sanctions package was published on 19 July 2025, and included a range of additional sanctions, mainly targeting the Russian energy, banking and military industries, but also individuals and the Russian shadow fleet (see our previous blog post on the 18th sanctions package). EU sanctions against Russia are enacted in the form of regulations,…
On 20 May 2025, the European Union adopted its 17th sanctions package in response to Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine. Building on the extensive measures already in place, this package signals a further tightening of economic and legal pressure points, with over 2,400 individuals and entities now sanctioned. Notably, the package reflects a growing willingness by the EU to extend its sanctions regime not only in scope but in geographic and sectoral reach. This blog…
On March 25, 2025, the Spanish Council of Ministers approved a draft bill to implement Directive (EU) 2024/1226 on the definition of criminal offenses and penalties for the violation of Union restrictive measures and amending Directive (EU) 2018/1673 (“Draft Bill” and “Directive”, respectively). The Directive established minimum Member State requirements concerning the definition of criminal offenses and penalties for the violation and circumvention of EU sanctions. For further detail on the Directive, see our blog post…
On 21 August 2024, the Swiss Federal Council announced the adoption of certain measures included in the European Commission’s 14th package of sanctions against Russia, which will enter into force on 27 August 2024 (the official media release is available here). The adoption of further measures of the 14th EU package is currently under consideration by the Swiss Federal Council. The newly adopted measures mainly consist in (i) an alignment with the EU diamond ban,…