Violation of EU sanctions: statement by Parliament’s negotiating team

Following the unsuccessful meeting of Thursday evening, MEPs participating in the negotiations with EU member states on the draft rules issued the following statement.

“To our deep regret, yesterday's trilogue on the Directive on the definition of criminal offences and penalties for the violation of Union restrictive measures was inconclusive.

The European Parliament believes the violation of sanctions must be criminalised, enforcement of sanctions must be improved, and forum shopping for the weakest national system must end. The criminalisation of sanctions evasion is also essential for the confiscation of frozen assets.

It is urgent that the Directive be adopted as quickly as possible. Each day that passes helps Putin's war efforts. The effectiveness of the EU sanctions regime is severely undermined by the patchwork of national legal systems, and by uneven and weak enforcement. Sanctioned persons can still travel, study, holiday and live in the EU, as well as companies can conduct their business fairly unhampered. Massive amounts of money are still moved around freely and flow into the war coffers of the Kremlin.

We therefore call on the Council to reconsider its position, and to resume talks as soon as possible. The European Parliament stands ready to continue the talks and find agreement on the outstanding issues.”

Background

On 6 July 2023, the Committee on Civil Liberties adopted the report and authorised the opening of interinstitutional negotiations. The decision was confirmed in Parliament’s plenary session on 12 July and the first trilogue took place the same day. Read more about Parliament’s position on the draft rules.