Statement by Commissioner McGuinness on the outcomes of the sixth high-level meeting on sanctions implementation

Today, Commissioner Mairead McGuinness, in charge of sanctions implementation, chaired the sixth meeting of the high-level meeting on union restrictive measures. More than two years since Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, sanctions remain at the core of the EU’s response to this unprovoked military aggression. Following the adoption of fourteen far-reaching packages of sanctions on Russia, combatting the circumvention of EU sanctions remains one of the European Commission’s top priorities. The main purpose of this meeting was to take stock of the actions taken by Member States to combat circumvention, in particular with regard to common high priority items, and to implement recently adopted measures on intellectual property rights, financial institutions, and maritime vessels. High-level representatives from Member States, alongside the Commission and the European External Action Service, came together to discuss the challenges, share data, and identify solutions.

Following the meeting, Commissioner McGuinness said:

Since the last meeting of this group, the Council has adopted a 14^th package of sanctions on Russia.

This package includes measures on anti-circumvention, especially concerning foreign subsidiaries and common high priority goods.

We are focusing on the proper implementation and enforcement of the measures in force. And that includes preventing circumvention.

We must continue to tackle Russia’s attempts at circumvention, including through third countries. This is a collective effort that concerns all parts of the supply chain: our exporters, their subsidiaries in third countries, and third countries that re-export goods to Russia.

Every piece of restricted technology that Russia acquires is used for its war effort and we must take every precaution to stop this.

Today’s discussion confirmed our shared determination to stop Russia from acquiring sensitive Western technology for its military, and to further cut Russia’s export revenues. These high-level meetings are an important forum to have a frank conversation with our Member States. To find out where we face common challenges and talk about what works – and what doesn’t. I was pleased to hear that progress is being made. But it is also clear that we still have a lot of work to do, at both European and national level.

In particular, anti-circumvention should remain a top priority. And the EU should not shy away from taking action against those who are actively undermining the impact of our sanctions.

The Commission will continue dedicating significant resources to this work. We will support our operators and authorities with guidance, and we will monitor the results achieved in practice. Member States too must play their part.

As the next Commission mandate draws near, EU institutions could reflect on a more strategic and ambitious approach to the various phases of the sanctions lifecycle: design, implementation, enforcement, and evaluation.

For sanctions to remain a credible tool, our measures against Russia must produce maximum impact. We owe that to Ukraine, but we also owe it to ourselves. We must all keep sanctions implementation at the top of our agendas.

Related links

Sanctions adopted following Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine

Overview of sanctions and related resources