On 25 May, the European Commission proposed adding violations of EU restrictive measures to the EU's list of crimes.
This is stated in a press release on the website of the commission.
According to the EC, this will establish a “common basic standard for criminal offences and penalties in the EU.” The European Commission believes that such general rules would facilitate investigations, prosecutions and penalties for violating restrictive measures in all member states of the union.
The European Commission emphasizes that as long as russia's aggression against Ukraine continues, it is very important that the EU's restrictive measures are fully implemented and that violations of these measures do not pay off.
“EU sanctions must be respected and those who try to circumvent them must be punished. Violating EU sanctions is a serious crime and has serious consequences. We need pan-European rules to establish this. As a Union, we stand up for our values and we must force those who support the work of Putin's military machine should be paid for it,” said European Commission Vice President Vera Yurova.
Commissioner for Justice and Consumer Protection Didier Reynders said that “at present, differences between criminal and restrictive sanctions can still lead to impunity. We need to close the loopholes and provide the judiciary with the necessary tools to prosecute for violating the Union's restrictive measures.”
We are reminding, that the other day Switzerland lifted sanctions on Eurochem, which belongs to the russian oligarch because he transferred the assets to his wife.
On 25 May, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on russia not to succumb to blackmail about a “corridor” for Ukraine's harvest across the Black Sea in exchange for lifting sanctions.