EU Anti-Russian Sanctions (Restrictive Measures): Compliance with International Law

Abstract

The EU sanctions policy against Russia began back in 2014 as a response to the aggravation of the crisis in Ukraine. In 2022, sanctions (restrictive measures) against Russia were significantly strengthened and acquired a large-scale and unpredictable character. The purpose of this article is to identify the essential characteristics of the EU anti-Russian sanctions and to determine the legal nature of the sanctions, as well as their compliance with international law. It is concluded that the unilateral EU sanctions, contrary to their purpose, are intended to punish Russia by causing maximum damage. International law does not forbid states and their associations to impose unilateral restrictive measures in the economic sphere if they are justified by security considerations. In this context, the verification of the validity of the EU sanctions should be assessed individually for each measure. The author believes that a number of EU restrictive measures taken against the Russian Federation go beyond the scope of the permissions established by international law. This is especially true regarding measures taken in 2022. Moreover, the practice of implementing the adopted restrictive measures is becoming increasingly sophisticated, indicating that the European Union and its individual members are abusing their position.