Step Up 'Weak' Russia Sanctions Implementation This Year, Think Tank Tells EU

The EU should require member states to report Russia-related sanctions enforcement data, audit their sanctions implementation efforts and step up enforcement against violators, a think tank network said in a set of 11 policy recommendations for 2024. The group said implementation and enforcement of Russia sanctions “will be critical” this year.

The European Sanctions and Illicit Finance Monitoring and Analysis Network, a group of researchers led by the London-based Royal United Services Institute, said the EU's Russia restrictions have so far been plagued by poor coordination among member states. It called on the bloc to double down on the sanctions, including by maximizing the "speed with which the Russian economy deflates" and imposing "constant pressure on the funding and resourcing of the Russian war."

The network specifically said the EU should require all member states to report their law enforcement activities and sanctions prosecutions to a central government body, adding that “knowledge of enforcement action” currently “resides independently in each country." A central reporting hub would give the EU “a consolidated view” of enforcement efforts.

It also called on the EU to “demonstrate meaningful enforcement” this year and correct the bloc’s “weak implementation” of existing sanctions. Europe’s governing body should “actively audit and score the progress of Member States to ensure maximum effectiveness is achieved,” the network said, and better use trade data to target violators.

This year “must be about meaningful sanctions enforcement,” it said, adding that “robust action must be taken by national authorities.” It called on the EU to align its enforcement efforts with the Biden administration’s December executive order that gives the U.S. broader authority to sanction financial institutions involved in shipping goods to Russia (see 2401120051 and 2312220023).

The network also said the EU should appoint a “lead responsible agency” to drive sanctions implementation rather than allow member states to “manage sanctions implementation ‘by committee,’” and added that a national authority should be responsible for information sharing. “Poor information sharing remains an impediment to successful EU sanctions implementation,” it said.

It also cautioned the EU against easing sanctions against Russia, pointing to the aftermath of Russia’s 2014 invasion of the Crimea region of Ukraine, when the bloc “failed to maintain sanctions pressure on Russia, losing interest in pressing home the economic costs” of the invasion. “The EU has engaged in measured sanctions diplomacy in 2023 -- this pressure must be maintained in 2024 and must be matched by action where continued circumvention failings are identified.”

The EU also should offer a “bigger carrot” to third countries that haven’t yet imposed strict sanctions against Russia, the network said. “Many third countries desire the prize of expanded EU trade relations,” it said. “Brussels should make greater use of this carrot in securing greater support for sanctions against Russia.”