The Netherlands recently released a "non-paper" covering ways to boost its sanctions enforcement. The proposals include elevating information sharing between EU member states, establishing an EU point of contact and platform for sanctions circumvention data, using diplomatic tools to increase sanctions compliance and fight circumvention, and expanding the EU's designation criteria to include individuals and entities in third-party countries involved in sanctions circumvention for the use of products on the battlefield in Ukraine.
The EU urged all U.N. member states to fully implement Security Council sanctions imposed on North Korea following its launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile Feb. 18 and short-range ballistic missiles Feb. 20. In a Feb. 23 statement, the European Council said it will work with its partners to restrict the flow of "finance, knowledge and components that the DPRK could use to support its unlawful weapons programme."
A group of European countries not in the EU aligned with a recent decision made under the bloc's Democratic Republic of the Congo sanctions regime, the European Council announced. In December, the council amended the designation criteria under the regime. The countries of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway aligned with the decision, the council said.
China dropped the need to declare on customs declaration forms for imported goods that "preventive disinfection has been implemented," the General Administration of Customs announced Feb. 21, according to an unofficial translation. The change to the declaration forms will take effect on March 1.
The U.K. added eight individuals to its Iran (Human Rights) sanctions regime, in a Feb. 20 notice from the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation. The individuals are Parviz Absalan, Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps deputy commander at Sistan and Baluchistan; Musa Asif Al-Hosseini, presiding judge of Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Courts of Karaj; Hassan Asgari, governor of Sanandaj; Morteza Barati, presiding judge of Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Courts of Isfahan; Amanollah Garshasbi, deputy commander of the IRGC for Sistan and Baluchistan province; Mohammad Karami, governor of Sistan and Baluchistan province; Hadi Mansouri, presiding judge of Branch 4 of the Revolutionary Courts of Mashhad; and Mohammad Taghi Osanloo, IRGC ground forces commander.
Europe has so far “neglected” the increasing competitiveness of Chinese chip design companies, presenting “challenges across the dimensions of national security, supply chain resilience and technological competitiveness for Europe,” European research institutions said in a recent report. Written by the Digital Power China research consortium and the Leiden Asia Centre, the report said the EU should better invest in its own chip design capabilities, strengthen the “indispensability” of its chip firms through “policy interventions,” “map the risk profile of increasing reliance on Chinese chip design” and more.
The EU imposed a sixth round of sanctions on Myanmar following its Feb. 1, 2021, military coup, the European Council announced Feb. 20. The new restrictions add nine individuals and seven entities to the sanctions list, including the nation's energy minister, "prominent businessmen who have supported the regime's repression with arms and dual use goods, and high-ranking officers in the Myanmar armed forces," the council said. The new additions also feature politicians and administrators from the Yangon region who helped carry out the July 2022 execution of four democracy activists.
The EU added 32 individuals and two entities to its Iran sanctions regime in response to ongoing human rights violations, the European Council announced. The listed individuals include the Iranian minister of culture and Islamic guidance, education minister, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps deputy commander and spokesperson, founders of Ravin Academy, members of the Iranian parliament backing the violent crackdown, and members of the police, judiciary and prison systems, the council said. The listed entities are the Law Enforcement Forces Cooperation Foundation and the Police Science and Social Studies Institute. The restrictions now cover 196 individuals and 33 entities.
The U.K. issued two General Licenses to allow greater humanitarian relief efforts in Syria in response to the earthquakes that rocked the region, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation announced. The licenses, one issued by OFSI and the other by the Export Control Joint Unit, remove the need for individual license applications.
The EU announced details of its 10th sanctions package on Russia over the war in Ukraine. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the proposed restrictions include export bans on over $11.7 billion worth of critical technology and industrial goods, including electronics, specialized vehicles, machine parts, spare parts for trucks and jet engines, and goods used in the construction industry such as antennas or cranes. Von der Leyen said the goal is to have the new sanctions implemented by Feb. 24.