The EU Sanctions Policy: A Thorny Path of Transformation

In recent years, the rising international tensions have raised for the EU leadership pressing questions on the prospects for both the internal development of the union and its global positioning. Against this backdrop, the analysis of the EU sanctions policy as a key tool of its foreign policy strategy is of particular interest. Such an analysis can not only help identify the specific features of the European Union as a subject of restrictions, but also reach a better understanding of the current evolutionary trends of this integration association on the whole. The first section examines the key institutions responsible for the development of the EU sanctions policy, as well as the principles and mechanisms underlying the adoption and implementation of the relevant measures. The author emphasizes the targeted and value-based character of the EU sanctions policy, its commitment to multilateralism and concerns about possible adverse humanitarian effects. The second section traces the evolution of the EU sanctions policy over the period from 1992 to 2022. It shows that it was as early as the 2010s that the EU countries started to switch from using sanctions primarily as a means of conveying an addressee a certain ‘political message’ designed to ensure human rights and democratic values, to harnessing them as an economic leverage. At the same time, evident disagreements emerged between the EU and the United States on secondary sanctions. All this led the EU leadership to realize the need to strengthen its sanctions policy, as well as its strategic autonomy in general. The third section analyzes the key aspects of the qualitative transformation of the EU sanctions policy that began in 2022. The author notes that along with a sharp increase in the number of sanctions against Russia provoked by the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine, the most important element of this transformation was the intensification of the EU’s efforts to combat sanctions evasion. All this indicates the growing readiness of the EU, which previously condemned the practice of extraterritorial sanctions, to apply sanctions measures beyond its borders. At the same time, the European Commission plays an increasingly active role in the development of restrictive measures. This may significantly change the institutional balance within the EU in its favor, contributing to strengthening the supranational principle. The prospects for the implementation of these tendencies, however, will largely depend on the international context and the ability of the EU leadership to reconcile competing interests of the member states.

1. Arapova E.Ya., Kudinov A.S. 2022. Osobennosti sanktsionnogo regulirovaniya v SShA, ES i Velikobritanii: sravnitel’nyi analiz [International sanctions legislation in the U.S., EU and UK: A comparative study]. Polis. Political Studies, no. 6, pp. 151–165. DOI: 10.17976/jpps/2022.06.11. (In Russ.)

2. Arbatova N.K., Kokeev A.M., Cherkasova E.G. (eds.). 2023. Nevoennye ugrozy bezopasnosti ES [Non-military threats to the EU security]. Moscow, Ves’ mir Publ. (In Russ.)

3. Oganisyan L.D. 2023. Gumanitarnaya pomoshch’ pod sanktsiyami: ot postanovki problemy k poiskam reshenii [Humanitarian aid under sanctions: From the problem statement to the search for solutions]. Lomonosov World Politics Journal, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 116–152. DOI: 10.48015/2076-7404-2023-15-2-116-152. (In Russ.)

4. Potemkina O.Yu. 2018. Blokiruyushchii statut kak instrument suverennoi torgovoi politiki ES [The blocking statute as an instrument of the EU sovereign trade policy]. Research paper No. 50. Institute of Europe RAS Publ. Available at: https://www.instituteofeurope.ru/images/uploads/analitika/2018/an146.pdf?ysclid=m5wldodoic279776329 (accessed: 03.12.2024). (In Russ.)

5. Potemkina O.Yu. 2016. Migratsionnyi krizis i politika Evropeiskogo soyuza [Migration crisis and the European Union policy]. Aktual’nye problemy Evropy, no. 4, pp. 38–60. (In Russ.)

6. Prokhorenko I.L. 2016. Vneshnepoliticheskaya strategiya Evropeiskogo Soyuza i problema regulirovaniya migratsionnogo krizisa [The European Union global strategy and the problem of the European refugee and migrant crises management]. In: Baranovsky V.G., Solov’ev E.G. (eds.). God planety: Ezhegodnik. Vyp. 2016 g. [Year of the planet: Yearbook 2016]. Moscow, IdeyaPress, pp. 178–186. (In Russ.)

7. Sargsyan A.M. 2011. Evolyutsiya normativno-pravovoi bazy primeneniya ekonomicheskikh sanktsii na prostranstve Evropeiskogo soyuza [Evolution of the European Union legislation on economic sanctions]. Lomonosov World Politics Journal, no. 3, pp. 236–249. (In Russ.)

8. Sergeev E.A., Vorotnikov V.V. 2023. Strategiya Evropeiskogo soyuza v usloviyakh global’noi perestroiki: avtonomiya ili evtanaziya? [European Union’s strategy in a transforming world: Autonomy or euthanasia?] Moscow, MGIMOUniversitet Publ. (In Russ.)

9. Strezhneva M.V., Rudenkova D.E. 2016. Evropeiskii soyuz: arkhitektura vneshnei politiki [European Union: The architecture of foreign policy]. Moscow, IMEMO RAN Publ. (In Russ.)

10. Timofeev I.N. 2019. Evropa pod ognem vtorichnykh sanktsii SShA [Europe under fire from US secondary sanctions]. Valdai Discussion Club. Available at: https://ru.valdaiclub.com/a/reports/evropa-pod-ognyem-sanktsiy/?ysclid=m5wleyqtuo887087425 (accessed: 03.12.2024). (In Russ.)

11. Timofeev I.N. 2021. Politika sanktsii Evropeiskogo soyuza. Opyt sobytiinogo analiza [Approaching the EU sanctions policy. An experiment with event analysis]. Contemporary Europe, no. 2, pp. 17–27. DOI: 10.15211/soveurope220211727. (In Russ.)

12. Timofeev I.N., Chupriyanova P.I. 2024. Politika sanktsii ES v otnoshenii Rossii posle fevralya 2022 g.: napravleniya izmenenii [EU sanctions policy toward Russia after February 2022: Major transformation trends]. Sovremennaya mirovaya ekonomika, vol. 2, no. 2 (6), pp. 43–59. DOI: 10.17323/2949-5776-2024-2-2-43-59. (In Russ.)

13. Beaucillon C. 2021. The European Union’s position and practice with regard to unilateral and extraterritorial sanctions. In: Beaucillon C. (ed.). Research handbook on unilateral and extraterritorial sanctions. Cheltenham, UK, Northampton, MA, Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd, pp. 110–129.

14. Biersteker T., Portela C. 2015. EU sanctions in context: Three types. European Union Institute for Security Studies. Available at: https://ru.valdaiclub.com/a/reports/evropa-pod-ognyem-sanktsiy/?ysclid=m5wleyqtuo887087425 (accessed: 03.12.2024).

15. De Vries A.W., Hazelzet H. 2005. The EU as a new actor on the sanctions scene. In: Wallensteen P., Staibano C. (eds.). International sanctions. Between words and wars in the global system. Oxon: Routledge, pp. 95–107.

16. Felbermayr G., Kirilakha A., Syropoulos C. et al. 2020. The Global Sanctions Data Base. European Economic Review, vol. 129, pp. 1–23.

17. Geranmayeh E., Rapnouil M.L. 2019. Meeting the challenge of secondary sanctions. European Council on Foreign Relations. Available at: https://ecfr.eu/archive/page/-/4_Meeting_the_challenge_of_secondary_sanctions.pdf (accessed: 03.12.2024).

18. Giumelli F. 2013. How EU sanctions work: A new narrative. Paris, EU Institute for Security Studies.

19. Giumelli F., Geelhoed W., De Vries M., Molesini A. 2022. United in diversity? A study on the implementation of sanctions in the European Union. Politics and Governance, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 36–46. DOI: 10.17645/pag.v10i1.4702.

20. Giumelli F., Hoffmann F., Ksią ż czaková A. 2021. The when, what, where and why of European Union sanctions. European Security, vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 1–23.

21. Immenkamp B. 2024. EU sanctions: A key foreign and security policy instrument. European Parliament. Available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2024/760416/EPRS_BRI(2024)760416_EN.pdf (accessed: 03.12.2024).

22. Jaeger M.D. 2016. Constructing sanctions: Rallying around the target in Zimbabwe. Cambridge Review of International Affairs, vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 952–969.

23. Jokela J., Aula I. 2020. Brexit and an independent UK sanctions policy. In: Helwig N., Jokela J., Portela C. (eds.). Sharpening EU sanctions policy. Helsinki, Finnish Institute of International Affairs, pp. 61–71.

24. Kirilakha A., Felbermayr G., Syropoulos C. et al. 2021. The Global Sanctions Data Base: An update that includes the years of the Trump presidency. In: Bergeijk P. van (ed.). The research handbook on economic sanctions. Cheltenham, UK, Northampton, MA, Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. Available at: https://china.elgaronline.com/edcollbook/edcoll/9781839102714/9781839102714.xml (accessed: 03.12.2024).

25. Matthijs M., Meunier S. 2023. Europe’s geoeconomic revolution. How the EU learned to wield its real power. Foreign Affairs. August 22. Available at: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/europe/european-union-geoeconomic-revolution (accessed: 03.12.2024).

26. Meissner K., Graziani C. 2023. The transformation and design of EU restrictive measures against Russia. Journal of European Integration, vol. 45, no. 3, pp. 377–394. DOI: 10.1080/07036337.2023.2190105.

27. Olsen K.B. 2022. Diplomatic realisation of the EU’s ‘geoeconomic pivot’: Sanctions, trade, and development policy reform. Politics and Governance, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 5–15. DOI: 10.17645/pag.v10i1.4739.

28. Portela C. 2007. Aid suspensions as coercive tools? The European Union’s experience in the African-Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) context. Review of European and Russian Affairs, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 38–53.

29. Portela C. 2016. How the EU learned to love sanctions. European Council on Foreign Relations. April 12. Available at: https://ecfr.eu/article/essay_how_the_eu_learned_to_love_sanctions/ (accessed: 03.12.2024).

30. Portela C. 2020. Implementation and enforcement. In: Helwig N., Jokela J., Portela C. (eds.). Sharpening EU sanctions policy. Helsinki, Finnish Institute of International Affairs, pp. 88–98.

31. Portela C. 2015. Member states’ resistance to EU foreign policy sanctions. European Foreign Affairs Review, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 39–61.

32. Portela C., Olsen K.B. 2023. Implementation and monitoring of the EU sanctions’ regimes, including recommendations to reinforce the EU’s capacities to implement and monitor sanctions. European Parliament. Available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2023/702603/EXPO_STU(2023)702603_EN.pdf (accessed: 03.12.2024).

33. Prosecution of sanctions (restrictive measures) violations in national jurisdictions: A comparative analysis. 2021. European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation. Available at: https://www.eurojust.europa.eu/sites/default/files/assets/genocide_network_report_on_prosecution_of_sanctions_restrictive_measures_violations_23_11_2021.pdf (accessed: 03.12.2024).

34. Riddervolda M., Riekera P. 2024. Finally coming of age? EU foreign and security policy after Ukraine. European Security, vol. 33, no. 3, pp. 497–516.

35. Russell M. 2020. EU human rights sanctions. Towards a European Magnitsky Act. European Parliament. Available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2020/659402/EPRS_BRI(2020)659402_EN.pdf (accessed: 03.12.2024).

36. Stanicek B., Caprile A. 2023. Russia and the Western Balkans: Geopolitical confrontation, economic influence and political interference. Briefing, European Parliamentary Research Service. Available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2023/747096/EPRS_BRI(2023)747096_EN.pdf (accessed: 03.12.2024).

37. Syropoulos C., Felbermayr G., Kirilakha A. et al. 2023. The Global Sanctions Data Base — Release 3: COVID-19, Russia, and multilateral sanctions. Review of International Economics, pp.1–42.

38. Zamfir I. 2023. Towards an EU global sanctions regime for corruption. European Parliament. Available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2023/739340/EPRS_BRI(2023)739340_EN.pdf (accessed: 03.12.2024).