Since Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, the EU has progressively imposed sanctions against Russia. Following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 these have been vastly scaled up.
The European Commission will soon announce its 12th sanctions package. This will likely involve an import ban on Russian diamonds and the targeting of Russian ICT companies, among other elements. However, the EU and its Member States still face serious challenges in enforcing previously agreed sanctions. Enforcement becomes increasingly complex with every new round of sanctions.
One major difficulty is the significant variation between the competent authorities in different member states, as well as in enforcement mechanisms and penalties.
In the latest paper by Rasmussen Global experts, we outline how the EU develops new packages of sanctions, what are the major issues with enforcement, and set out recommendations on how they can be made more effective.
