CYIL vol. 14 (2023)

PETER MATUŠKA – NIKOLAS SABJÁN CYIL 14 (2023) Lukashenko in August 2020, more than a month before the EU decided to adopt restriction measures in relation to Belarusian elections. 33 Nevertheless, from a legal perspective, the implementation and enforcement phase is rather problematic. It is hence not surprising that in the context of sanctions against Russia, the EU has recently started to emphasize the aspect of implementation and even more importantly, enforcement. 34 Member States have different obligations and tasks concerning sanctions. Just to name a few, the relevant authorities are required to determine the penalties for violations of restrictive measures, grant exemptions, receive information, and cooperate with economic operators or report to EC. 35 A number of concerns in the context of implementation and enforcement can be mentioned. Firstly, there is still no harmonization in EU law regarding circumvention of sanctions. However, the EC proposed to add the violation of EU restrictive measures to the list of EU crimes in May 2022. 36 Subsequently, in November 2022, the Council adopted a decision to add the violation of restrictive measures to the list of ‘EU crimes’ included in the TFEU. 37 The Council Decision considers the violation of Union restrictive measures as an area of serious crime that meets the criteria set out in Article 83(1) of the TFEU. The EC presented the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the definition of criminal offences and penalties for the violation of Union restrictive measures on 2 December 2022. 38 The ultimate goal of the proposal is to set up a legal framework which will enhance the effectiveness of sanctions. Otherwise, the EU faces a risk that the effectivity of its sanctions policy will be undermined. Another aspect concerns the enforcement of sanctions evasion. The EC has previously pointed to inconsistent enforcement of restrictive measures and the fact that this undermines their efficiency. 39 By and large, there are several reasons why such inconsistencies occur. First, the enforcement depends upon the institutional structure of the specific Member State – the monitoring and gathering of information, investigation of breaches of EU sanctions and the 33 ‘Baltic states impose sanctions on Lukashenko and other Belarus officials’ Reuters (31 August 2020); a similar approach was discussed in August 2022 regarding travel ban for Russian citizens. See: ‘Baltic states, Poland and Finland could ban Russian tourists, says Lithuania’ EURACTIV/Reuters , (23 August 2022). 34 As stated above, the EU proposed its 11 th sanctions package aiming to prevent sanction circumvention. In other words, the main goal is to increase effectivity of measures instead of initiate new sanctions. 35 SAVAGE, D., ‘EU Restrictive Measures’ in Rachel Barnes QC (eds), The Guide to Sanctions (Law Business Research Ltd 2022), 62. 36 Proposal for a Council decision on adding the violation of Union restrictive measures to the areas of crime laid down in Article 83(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, COM/2022/247, . 37 Council of the EU, ‘Sanctions: Council adds the violation of restrictive measures to the list of EU crimes’ (28 November 2022) . 38 Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the definition of criminal offences and penalties for the violation of Union restrictive measures COM/2022/684 . 39 Communication from the Commission, ‘The European economic and financial system: fostering openness, strength and resilience’, COM (2021) 32 final of 19 January 2021, Section 5 (Strengthening the implementation and enforcement of EU sanctions), 16, .

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