On Thursday, MEPs in the Civil Liberties Committee adopted a draft negotiating mandate on violating and circumventing EU sanctions by 36 votes in favour, 2 against and 2 abstentions. It would introduce a common definition of violations and minimum penalties to ensure that they are punished as criminal offences everywhere in the EU.

EU sanctions can consist of freezing funds and assets, travel bans, arms embargoes and restrictions on business sectors, among other things. According to the proposed law, violations would include not freezing funds or not respecting travel bans as required by sanctions, or doing business with state-owned entities of countries subject to sanctions.

Circumventing sanctions would also be punishable and would include practises such as concealing or transferring funds that should be frozen, hiding the true ownership of property, and not reporting sufficient information. MEPs voted to flesh out the list of activities that count as circumvention.

Dissuasive…