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The European Union (EU) can impose sanctions on governments, organisations, entities, groups, or individuals. The goal is to induce a change in the policies or activities of the party concerned. The European Union pursues this course of action to:
- safeguard the EU's values, fundamental interests and security;
- keep the peace;
- strengthen and support democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the principles of international law.
The European Union may impose sanctions on its own initiative or pursuant to United Nations Security Council resolutions.
For the implementation of sanctions against both countries, the European Commission has developed guidelines and FAQs, which are regularly updated.
Measures Relating to Russia
The European Union has consistently imposed sanctions on Russia since 2014 in response to the illegal annexation of Crimea. Economic sanctions have been reniewed every 6 months since July 1st, 2016.
Since February 23rd, 2022, the European Union has taken additional measures on several occasions in response to Russia's military aggression against Ukraine. The European Union and its Member States condemn the illegal annexation of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
These measures are aimed at
- weakening Russia's economic base,
- depriving the country of crucial technologies and markets,
- severely limiting its ability to wage war.
Since the beginning of the military aggression in February 2022, a total of twelve sanction packages have already been issued by the European Union:
- February 23rd, 2022: First package
- February 25th, 2022: Second package
- February 28th and March 2nd, 2022: Third package
- March 15th, 2023: Fourth package
- April 8th, 2023: Fifth package
- June 3rd, 2022: Sixth package
- July 21st, 2022: Seventh package (maintenance and adaptation package)
- October 6th, 2022: Eighth Package
- December 16th, 2022: Ninth package
- February 25th, 2023: Tenth package
- June 23rd, 2023: Eleventh package
- December 18th, 2023: Twelfth package
- 23 February 2024: thirteenth package
- 24 June 2024: fourteenth package
These include, but are not limited to:
- Travel restrictions and asset freezes of individuals and entities
- Individual sanctions against members of the Duma
- Sanctions against banks, military personnel, propagandists and members and sympathizers of Russia's Wagner Group;
- Sanctions against those responsible for Russia's abduction of Ukrainian children;
- Sanctions against organisations involved in the Russian military and defence sector, such as developers of drones used against civilians and civilian infrastructure;
- Sanctions against Iranian producers who supply drones to Russia.
- Visa restrictions for Russian diplomats and other Russian representatives and businessmen
- Banning the import and export of arms;
- restricting Russia's access to certain sensitive technologies
- Prohibition of all material and financial support;
- SWIFT ban on a number of Russian banks and a complete transaction ban on a number of major Russian banks
- Prohibition of transactions with the Central Bank of Russia
- Closure of EU airspace and airports to all types of Russian airlines and the closure of EU ports to Russian-flagged vessels
- Import ban on:
- Iron and steel products; pig iron and Spiegel, copper wire, aluminium wire, sheets, tubes and pipes
- Wood, cement, fertilizers, fish products and alcohol;
- Coal and other solid fossil fuels
- Crude Oil and Refined Petroleum Products
- Gold & Gold Jewelry
- Paper & Plastics
- Elements (such as precious stones and metals) used in the jewellery industry
- Cosmetics & Cigarettes
- Synthetic rubber
- Bitumen
- Asphalt
- Liquefied propane gas (LPG)
- Export ban on:
- Luxury goods;
- Dual-use items (i.e. items that can be used for both military and civilian purposes),
- Aerospace assets, maritime and radiocommunications technologies, and aviation fuel;
- Quantum computers, advanced semiconductors, advanced electronics, software, sensitive machine parts, and transportation equipment
- Goods that can contribute to Russia's military and technological improvement or to the development of Russia's defence and security sector (aircraft or drone engines, components of weapons systems such as drones, missiles and helicopters, lithium batteries, thermostats, DC motors and servo motors for drones)
- Civilian armaments
- Chemicals and goods that can be used for torture or other acts of violence
- Industrial goods;
- Specialty vehicles and components for trucks and jet engines;
- Some rare raw materials and thermal cameras.
- Intellectual property
- Targeted economic measures to strengthen existing measures and close loopholes, such as:
- A ban on Russian companies participating in public procurement in member states;
- No financial support to Russian state bodies;
- A broader ban on deposits in cryptocurrency wallets and the sale of banknotes and negotiable securities in the official currencies of EU member states to Russia and Belarus or to natural or legal persons in Russia and Belarus
- Banning EU residents from serving on the boards of Russian state-owned companies;
- A ban on investment in certain sectors (including energy and mining)
- A ban on Russian road transport companies transporting goods by road within the EU, even if they are not destined for the EU (with some exceptions)
- Banning the broadcasting of certain media in the EU
- Prohibiting the provision of several services to businesses, such as accounting, public relations, consulting, cloud services, architectural and engineering services, IT consulting, legal consulting, advertising and market research consultancy, opinion polling, product testing and technical inspection services; the provision of business management software and industrial design and manufacturing software.
- No Russia clause: EU exporters contractually prohibit re-exportation to Russia and re-exportation for use in Russia of particularly sensitive goods and technology, when selling, supplying, transferring or exporting to a third country, with the exception of partner countries. The clause covers prohibited items used in Russian military systems found on the battlefield in Ukraine or critical to the development, production or use of those Russian military systems, as well as aviation goods and weapons.
The 14th sanctions package contains restrictive measures targeting key sectors of the Russian economy, such as energy, finance and trade. The energy-related measures include a ban on the supply of goods, technologies or services to LNG projects under construction in Russia, and a ban on the transshipment of Russian LNG via EU ports.
This package also includes:
- anti-circumvention measures
- additions of individuals and entities to the sanctions list
- additional measures for the financial sector
- trade measures, including an extension of export restrictions for dual-use products and advanced technologies, industrial goods, an import ban on helium and stolen Ukrainian cultural artefacts
- transport measures (air, road and sea)
- measures to protect intellectual property rights
- measures against Russian interference
Several packages of targeted restrictive measures have already been adopted as financial sanctions. These sanctions include freezing measures, bans on investment in certain sectors, the granting of loans and the financing of the import or export of certain goods, etc.
Detailed information on the financial sanctions against Russia can be found on the website of the FPS Finance.
Iron and Steel Products
Article 3g(1)(d) entered into force on September 30th, 2023. This article imposes restrictions on the import of steel products from third countries. From that date, it will be prohibited to import or purchase, directly or indirectly, the steel products concerned in the Union if they have been processed in a third country with steel inputs originating in Russia. Further information can be found on the website of the FPS Finance.
Diamonds
The EU imposes a prohibition on direct or indirect import, purchase or transfer of diamonds from Russia. That prohibition applies to diamonds originating from Russia, exported from Russia, transiting through Russia, and Russian diamonds when processed in third countries other than Russia.
The prohibition applies to non-industrial natural and synthetic diamonds, as well as diamond jewelry, as of 1 January 2024, and includes a progressive phasing-in, from March 1st, 2024 to September 1st, 2024, of an indirect import ban on Russian diamonds when processed in third countries other than Russia, including jewelry incorporating diamonds originating in Russia. The phasing-in of indirect import bans takes into consideration the need to deploy an appropriate traceability mechanism that enables effective enforcement measures and minimises disruptions for market players.
From March 1st, 2024, for the purposes of paragraphs 3 and 4 of article 3p, at the time of importation, importers shall provide proof of the country of origin of the diamonds or products incorporating diamonds used as inputs for the processing of the product in a third country.
As of March 1st, 2025, traceability-based evidence includes a corresponding certificate certifying that the diamonds are not mined, processed, or produced in Russia.
The 14th package of sanctions contains a further refinement of the import ban on Russian diamonds.
The ban on Russian diamonds is part of a G7 effort to develop an internationally coordinated diamond ban that aims at depriving Russia of such an important source of revenue.
For more information on diamond sanctions, please visit the Antwerp World Diamond Centre website.
Enforcement of Oil Price Cap
The Council is introducing tighter compliance rules to support the implementation of the oil price cap and clamp down on circumvention.
You can find an overview of all measures and legal texts of decisions and regulations on the EU sanctions map. Once there, click on Russia, then "info" in the pop-up window for more details.
The website of the European Council of the European Union provides more information on the background to the various measures taken against Russia.
Measures Against Belarus
On March 2nd and 9th, 2022, the European Union adopted additional sanctions against Belarus and Russia for its involvement in Russia's military aggression in Ukraine.
Since the beginning of the military aggression in February 2022, a total of five packages of sanctions have already been issued by the European Union against Belarus and Russia:
- March 2nd, 2022: 1st package
- March 9th, 2022: 2nd package
- June 3rd, 2022: 3rd package
- February 27th, 2023 4th package
- August 3rd, 2023: 5th package
- 29 June 2024: 6th package
These include, but are not limited to:
- Ban on access to EU airspace
- Ban on arms exports;
- Prohibition of sale or supply of certain equipment, technology or software;
- Prohibition on the import of mineral products (petroleum products, natural gas, etc.) and potassium chloride ("potash") products
- Wood products, cement products, iron and steel products, rubber products
- Extension of financial sanctions against natural and legal persons;
- Ban on Swift of a number of Belarusian banks
- Prohibition of transactions with the Central Bank of Russia
- Ban on Belarusian road transport companies transporting goods by road within the EU, even if they are not destined for the EU (with some exceptions)
- Ban on the export of firearms and goods related to the aerospace industry.
The 29 June 2024 sanctions target trade, services, transport and the fight against circumvention. Some of these sanctions had already been imposed on Russia and now also include Belarus:
- a ban on the export to Belarus of dual-use goods and technologies, marine navigation equipment and luxury goods
- a ban on the import from Belarus of gold, diamonds, helium, coal and mineral products, including crude oil
- a ban on the provision of certain services
- an extended ban on the transport of goods by road within the EU
- an obligation for EU exporters to include the "non-destination clause to Belarus" in future contracts
- additional measures to combat circumvention
This brings the sanctions against Belarus into line with those already in force against Russia.
You can find an overview of all measures and legal texts of decisions and regulations on the EU sanctions map. Once there, click on White Russia and then "info" in the pop-up window for more details.
The website of the European Council of the European Union provides more information on the background to the various measures taken against Belarus and Russia.
Information on the financial sanctions against Russia can be found on the website of the FPS Finance.
