On 30 June 2022, the EU Council requested the EU Parliament’s agreement in relation to the decision to include the violation of restrictive measures to the list of “EU crimes” included in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

The EU has adopted a number of sanctions in the context of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and it is essential that these measures are fully implemented.

A unanimous decision is needed to add the violation of sanctions to the list of “EU crimes” and as a second step, will allow the adoption of a directive containing minimum rules concerning the definition of criminal offences, ensuring similar degree of sanctions enforcement throughout the EU.

EU Council’s press release can be found here.