The violation of Union restrictive measures as a new EU-crime
Abstract
On 28 November 2022, the Council of the European Union took a historic decision. Based on its competences under Article 83(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, it added, for the first time, a new offence to the list of the so-called EU-crimes, namely the violation of Union restrictive measures. Restrictive measures or sanctions play a key role in maintaining international peace and security and safeguarding the fundamental values of the Union. However, their effectiveness can significantly be reduced if the Member States impose different legal consequences for their infringement. Since violation of Union restrictive measures were not originally among the ten criminal offences listed in Article 83(1) TFEU, the Council had to establish a legal basis for the approximation of national criminal law in relation to this offence in its Decision of 2022. Following the adoption of the Council Decision, the European Parliament and the Council adopted a Directive on 24 April 2024 which established minimum rules concerning the definition of criminal offences and penalties for the violation of Union restrictive measures. The study examines the legal basis of the EU restrictive measures, analyses the reasons behind the adoption of the Council Decision, presents in detail the main provisions of the new Directive, and briefly addresses certain issues of the domestic implementation of the EU legal act.
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