How will the decision of the EU Council to criminalize the circumvention of sanctions affect Russia

The Council of the EU unanimously approved the decision to include sanctions violations in the list of crimes in the European Union, according to a message published on Monday, November 28. Now the European Commission must submit a proposal for a directive containing minimum rules regarding the definition of criminal offenses and penalties for violation of restrictive measures. The document will then be sent for approval to the European Parliament and the EU Council.

Currently, this list includes terrorism, human trafficking, sexual exploitation of women and children, drug and arms trafficking, money laundering, counterfeiting of means of payment, corruption, cybercrime and organized crime. The European Commission submitted a proposal to include violations of restrictive measures in it on May 25.