War in Ukraine: Council of the EU finalises position on law that aligns penalties for violations of EU sanctions

On 9 June, the Council of the European Union agreed on its negotiating position (general approach) for an EU law which introduces criminal offences and penalties for the violation of EU sanctions. This directive, when adopted, will be an important tool to ensure that violating sanctions does not pay off.

“Sanctions are one crucial tool in the EU support of Ukraine and its fight against the Russian illegal aggression. This new law will make it easier to investigate, prosecute and punish the breaking of sanction measures throughout the EU,” said Gunnar Strömmer, Swedish minister for justice.

The draft law defines the conduct that member states will need to criminalise. Actions which member states will label as criminal offences include: helping persons subject to Union restrictive measures to bypass an EU travel ban, trading sanctioned goods and running transactions with states or entities which are hit by EU restrictive measures.

This general approach is the basis for negotiations with the European Parliament to reach a common position on the draft law.

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Press release