EU push to add sanctions violation to ‘EU crime list’ takes step forward
The EU Council said on 30 June that it had ‘requested the European Parliament’s consent on a decision to add the violation of restrictive measures to the list of “EU crimes” included in the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU.’
It said: ‘The EU has adopted a number of restrictive measures in the context of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and it is essential that these measures are fully implemented. Currently member states have very different definitions of what constitutes a violation of restrictive measures and what penalties should be applied in the event of violation. This could lead to different degrees of enforcement of sanctions and a risk of these measures being circumvented, potentially allowing sanctioned persons to continue accessing their assets and supporting regimes targeted by EU measures.
‘A unanimous decision to add the violation of restrictive measures to the list of “EU crimes” will allow, as a second step, the adoption of a directive containing minimum rules concerning the definition of criminal offences and penalties for the violation of EU restrictive measures. This will ensure a similar degree of sanctions enforcement throughout the EU and will dissuade attempts to circumvent or violate EU measures.’
Under article 83(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, the Parliament and the Council may ‘establish minimum rules concerning the definition of criminal offences and sanctions in areas of particularly serious crime with a cross-border dimension.’ The EU notes that areas of crime currently listed include ‘terrorism, trafficking in human beings and sexual exploitation of women and children, illicit drug trafficking, illicit arms trafficking, money laundering, corruption, counterfeiting of means of payment, computer crime and organised crime.’
As reported by WorldECR on 25 May 2022, the European Commission presented a proposal for a decision to extend the list of these areas of crime to include the violation of restrictive measures adopted by the EU.
