CYIL vol. 14 (2023)

CYIL 14 (2023) APPLICATION OF EU SANCTIONS IN MEMBER STATES – CASE OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC The EU characterized this as “sanctions revolution”, 5 which is certainly not an exaggeration – the sanctions against Russia over Ukraine are the most far-reaching that have ever been imposed by the EU. In February 2023, this exceeded more than 14,000 various types of sanctions. The majority of sanctions target individuals, with only 2,210 sanctions placed on entities, vessels, or aircraft. These figures do not include sectoral sanctions such as general trade embargos on gas or oil. The EU adopted both type of sanctions: comprehensive and also so-called smart sanctions aimed against individuals or entities. This is significant, as the EU has been much more in favour of individual, smart sanctions in the last two decades. 6 Other states, including the USA, Japan, Canada, UK, or even the traditionally neutral Switzerland, 7 followed suit and reacted to Russia’s aggression by heavily sanctioning it. As a result, Russia quickly became the most sanctioned country in the world. 8 While the most debated aspect of these sanctions seems to be their effectiveness which remains a contentious issue (although the majority of experts and analysts agree on the relatively significant impact upon the Russian economy and state in general) 9 the legal question(s) too remain as relevant as ever. In this article, we shall focus upon the legal quandaries with regard to sanctions in the context of EU law, while also analysing some of the salient features of the sanctions within the Slovakian legal and institutional system. Accordingly, we commence our discussion in the first part by discussing the EU legal framework pertaining to restrictive measures. Subsequently, in the second part, we turn to the more specific issue that is currently being address on the theoretical and political level as well – i.e., the implementation and enforcement of sanctions. Restrictive measures retain their distinctive nature as they fall under the Union’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and even though these are adopted on the EU level, the implementation and enforcement is the responsibility of each Member State. Such a framework, as we will see, is not without its problems. We shall highlight, within this part, various issues concerning the implementation and enforcement in the Slovak Republic with which we are familiar, and which could be instructive for other states or the entire sanctions framework and its shortcomings. After concluding this more general analysis, we are able to focus on a specific case-study. We chose a rather unique case of Mr. Jozef Hambalek, who was put on the EU sanctions list in July 2022 in relation to the Russian aggression against Ukraine. As of yet, Mr. Hambalek remains the only EU citizen on the abovementioned list which undoubtedly makes it quite 5 European Parliamentary Research Service, EU sanctions on Russia: Overview, impact, challenges (Briefing, 2023) . 6 Although it is true, that the EU imposed comprehensive sanctions even before the Russian invasion in 2022, for instance against Venezuela in 2017. Council Decision (CFSP) 2017/2074 of 13 November 2017 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Venezuela, OJ L 295/60. In any case, the sanctions against Russia are much more severe and broader. 7 BERNI, M., ‘Why Switzerland Will Stick to Neutrality’ ( Lawfare , 14 May 2023) . 8 ZANDT, F., ‘The World’s Most-Sanctioned Countries’ ( Statista, 22 February 2023) . 9 See: DISNEY, R., ‘How have the forecasts on the effect of sanctions on Russia held up a year on?’ ( Economics Observatory ) ; SHAGINA, M., ‘Russia faces the slow burn of economic sanctions’ ( International Institute for Strategic Studies , 20 February 2023) .

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