Implementation and monitoring of the EU sanctions' regimes, including recommendations to reinforce the EU's capacities to implement and monitor sanctions

Sanctions imposed by the European Union (EU) against Russia following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine brought about an unprecedented emphasis on sanctions implementation and enforcement, which - in contrast to decision-making - have traditionally relied on a decentralised system. This has resulted in a mosaic of practices across the EU, involving more than 160 designated competent authorities within Member States. While reflecting the principle of subsidiarity, this nevertheless poses a risk to the internal market's equity by triggering practical confusion and contradictory legal interpretations of key sanctions provisions between Member States. While EU institutions and Member States have rightly put the monitoring of the implementation and effectiveness of sanctions at the top of the agenda, more needs to be done. The EU should agree on a joint definition of what constitutes a competent national authority, ensure adequate guidance for the EU's economic operators, enhance the involvement of implementation and enforcement expertise in the planning phase of sanctions regimes, and design a new horizontal sanctions regime to counter circumvention. At the same time, the European Parliament should strengthen its organisational know-how, technical expertise and independent monitoring capacities, as well as demand more technical guidance from other EU institutions.