The Financial and Other Sanctions of the European Union

The Financial and Other Sanctions of the European Union is the first to thoroughly investigate the origins, nature, and implications of the whole range of sanctions regimes set by the European Union (EU). The EU has chosen to react to violence and aggression in states outside the block by enforcing restrictive measures, both autonomous and mandated by the Security Council of the United Nations. In recent years, it has furthermore chosen to respond to malevolent actions that do not necessarily unfold within the territory of a specific state. To date, the EU has done so in thirty-seven instances, following more than eighty EU legal instruments.

What’s in this book:

International peace and security breaches, political impasse and violent repression, severe human rights violations, terrorism, malevolent cyber activity, and the spread and use of chemical weapons have all pushed the EU to adopt restrictive measures. Such measures affect:

• funds and financial services, as well as banking
• energy
• gold, precious metals, diamonds and luxury goods
• cultural property
• tourism and travel
• broadcasting
• arms, weapons and missiles
• dual-use items, as set both by the EU and by international actors, such as the Australia Group, the Missile
• Technology Control Regime, the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the Wassenaar Arrangement
• mining and quarrying, and
• logistics

The book's thorough coverage includes information on the legal basis for imposing sanctions by considering UN Security Council resolutions that have been adopted or have not been adopted, the preference for targeted or smart measures over embargoes or economic sanctions, the principles governing restrictive measures (such as expiration or review), when and if a restrictive measure can be challenged, and any correlations with US law, if applicable. The extremely intricate restrictive measures pertaining to Russia's aggression in Ukraine are covered in a special chapter.

How this will help you:

Policymakers, scholars, and practitioners working in the fields of international relations, international peace and security, defence, banking and finance, luxury goods, and fine arts will appreciate the book's clear and well-structured explanation of the EU sanctions regimes, as well as its invaluable guidance in identifying the legislative instruments that shape each regime and in developing arguments based on differences between them.