Closing loopholes through innovation - improving EU sanctions enforcement

For as long as the EU has been using sanctions as a foreign policy instrument, countering violations has been a challenge. With the EU rapidly expanding the breadth and depth of its sanctions, its ­institutions and member states must find ways to ensure stricter and more uniform enforcement to deter violations, enhance efficiency, and ensure a more level playing field for economic actors.

In this co-authored policy brief for the German Council on Foreign Relations, Kim B. Olsen proposes specific steps for closing this "enforcement gap" through legal inspiration from other EU policy fields. The stakes are high: the success of the EU’s response to Russia’s military aggression hinges largely on effective sanctions, and the long-term legitimacy of the tool itself depends on its enforcement.