The latest developments related to sanctions, their implementation and other (trade) restrictive measures adopted as a response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
1 – Results from the European Council and G7 meetings
The first day (24 March) of the meeting of the European Council resulted in the adoption of Conclusions on the Russian military aggression against Ukraine. You may find the Conclusions here.
Moreover, the G7 Leaders adopted a Statement which, although does not include any new restrictive measures, it announces closer cooperation to address loopholes in the implementation of the current measures to refrain from evasion, circumvention and backfilling that seek to undercut or mitigate the effects of our sanctions. You may access the full Statement here.
2 – Joint Statement regarding the application from Belarus for accession to the WTO
On 24 March, a Joint Statement was signed by a number of WTO members, announcing that they will not further consider Belarus’ application for accession.
3 – More guidance on EU sanctions will be published soon
The European Commission – DG FISMA – has developed a page dedicated to EU sanctions, where you may access all relevant information on the sanctions adopted following Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine. There you may also find the guidance documents that have been published already – including questions related to luxury goods trade, while you will also be able to access the new ones, as they become available by the Commission.
4 – Commission adopts Temporary Crisis Framework to support the economy in context of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in the area of State aid
On 23 March, the European Commission adopted a Temporary Crisis Framework to enable Member States to use the flexibility foreseen under State aid rules to support the economy in the context of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. According to Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, “the new framework will enable Member States to (i) grant limited amounts of aid to companies affected by the current crisis or by the related sanctions and countersanctions; (ii) ensure that sufficient liquidity remains available to businesses; and (iii) compensate companies for the additional costs incurred due to exceptionally high gas and electricity prices.”
5 – Additional sanctions
On 24 March, both the US and the UK announced additional measures.
- The US Treasury adopted sanctions against Russia’s Defense-Industrial Base, the Russian Duma and Its Members, and Sberbank CEO.
- The UK also sanctioned more individuals and entities, that are now subject to asset freezes. You access the relevant Press release and the Notice.
6 – Draft law in Ukraine proposes seizure of assets from non-Russian entities that have operations in Russia
A draft law in the Verkhovna Rada came to our attention, which seeks to expand existing legislation on the seizure of assets of legal entities owned by the Russian
Federation and of individuals who are the citizens of the Russian Federation, to also allow the Ukrainian Government to seize assets from non-Russian entities that have operations in Russia. This could potentially impact European companies that are present both in Ukraine and Russia.
7 – Countermeasures adopted by Russia
On 23 March, the State Duma created a commission to investigate cases of foreign interference in Russia's affairs, the commission's tasks include "studying and analyzing the facts and circumstances of foreign states' interference in Russia's internal affairs" and "preparing proposals for legislative measures to counter foreign interference". You may read more here.
