UK aligns with new EU chemical weapons sanctions framework

The UK parliament has passed the Chemical Weapons (Asset Freezing) and Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations, which comes into force on 7 November 2018.

The regulations align the UK position on enforcement, licensing and penalties with the EU’s new chemical weapons sanctions regime under Council Regulation (EU) 2018/1542.

The EU Council adopted the new EU sanctions framework on 15 October to address the ‘use and proliferation of chemical weapons’ in the wake of the suspected use of nerve agent Novichok by Russia against former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the UK city of Salisbury in March 2018. The EU is now able to impose sanctions on any persons or entities involved in the development or use of chemical weapons ‘regardless of their nationality and location’. Those eligible for potential sanctions include not only parties directly responsible for the development and use of chemical weapons, but ‘those who provide financial, technical or material support, and those who assist, encourage or are associated with them.’

Sanctioned parties will be subject to a travel ban to the EU, an asset freeze, and will not be able to avail themselves of funds from EU persons or entities.

Council Regulation (EU) 2018/1542 can be found here:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32018R1542

Chemical Weapons (Asset Freezing) and Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations SI 2018/1090 can be found here:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/1090/pdfs/uksi_20181090_en.pdf