The European Council approved the inclusion of violations of sanctions measures in the list of crimes against the European Union. According to TASS, the decision was taken unanimously.
“[Решено] Add non-compliance with restrictive measures to the list of “EU crimes” in the treaty on the functioning of the EU.”
This measure is linked to sanctions against the Russian Federation. The EU leadership believes that sanctions measures should be fully implemented. However, EU member states have differing views on what circumvention means and how it should be punished.
“This could result in varying degrees of sanctions and the risk that these measures will be circumvented, allowing potentially sanctioned persons to continue to access their assets and support regimes targeted by EU measures,” the European Council said.
At the same time, including the breach of sanctions on the list of “EU crimes” is the first of two steps that Brussels expects to impose equally stringent sanctions across the European Union.
Following this decision, the European Commission will present a draft law that will set the terms and penalties for violating European sanctions. The body added that “This draft directive must be discussed and approved by the Council of the EU and the European Parliament”.
At the end of May, the European Commission recommended that circumventing sanctions be considered a crime. The move was intended to guarantee the “virtual confiscation” of the assets of both individuals and legal entities, for violators of sanctions measures.
Since February 24, the EU has introduced eight sanctions packages against the Russian Federation. In early October, the EU approved the eighth package of sanctions against Russia. The new sanctions included a 7 billion-euro ban on Russian goods, exports of coal from the Russian Federation, electronic components for weapons, technical products for aerospace and chemicals.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said work on the ninth package is “in full swing”. The newspaper Politico reported that the main measure under the ninth package could be the broad expansion of the list of sanctions against individuals.
According to the news of the Magyar Nemzet newspaper, Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said that Budapest sees sanctions as an ineffective method in achieving military-political goals.
“Hungary believes that if the EU acts uniformly and effectively, it can find a solution that will persuade the warring parties to establish peace immediately,” said Kovacs.
He recalled that the Hungarian authorities had repeatedly stated that “the sanction policy is not suitable for achieving military-political goals, instead other means more suitable for negotiation should be used”.
According to Kovacs, “With the introduction of anti-Russian sanctions packages, confidence has been built that these will lead to peace.”
“It has already become clear that the sanctions are not suitable for this. The European Commission or the European Parliament has never had the power to admit their mistake,” he added.
Kovacs also noted that the European Parliament has become extremely “radicalized and ideologized”.