European Parliament supports aggravation of punishment for violating sanctions

The European Parliament has voted in favour of a directive on criminalisation of violation and evasion of EU sanctions.

In total, 543 members of the European Parliament voted for the aggravation of the punishment for the evasion of EU sanctions, 45 voted against it, and 27 abstained.

A corresponding directive provides for a general definition of violating EU sanctions, for instance, failure to freeze the assets of the individuals sanctioned in the EU, non-adherence to travel bans or embargo on armament supply etc.

The document also defines evasion of EU sanctions – for instance, concealment of the real property rights of a sanctioned individual – and guarantees that this offence will be punished. At the same time it is specified that humanitarian aid must not be considered a violation of EU sanctions.

The directive suggests considering the violation and evasion of EU sanctions a criminal offence punishable with fines. The courts will therefore have "a broad range of means for punishing the offenders", the European Parliament reported.

The directive must also be approved by the EU Council in order to enter into force. After that it will become valid 20 days after its publication in the official EU journal, and the EU member states will have one year to implement it into their national legislations.

In December 2022, the European Commission put forward a proposal for the harmonisation of criminal offences and penalties for violations of EU restrictive measures.

On 9 June 2023 the Council of the European Union reached a common approach for an EU law that introduces criminal offences and penalties for the violation of EU sanctions. The directive was finalised in December.