Sanctions against the Russian regime were adopted in response to the Russian Federation’s military aggression against Ukraine. However, companies maintain economic ties with Russian companies, including military entities, thus circumventing the established sanctions directives, in violation of restrictive measures. This situation is not controllable and additional measures should be considered to ensure accountability in all member States for breaches of the sanctions regime.
The national competent authorities in the member States that supervise the different market sectors have limited competence; it is necessary to carry out global supervision at international level. The objective is to identify and assess emerging forms of violations of international sanctions, changes in existing risks or the emergence of new risks, and to assess the appropriateness and proportionality of measures for the implementation of international sanctions and restrictive measures. A Register functioning as a database for such potential violations would be an effective tool to tackle the problem.
Such an approach would create a consistent benchmark against which to adequately assess and promote transparency and awareness in the respective member States, demonstrate that the rule of law applies to all legal entities in Europe, and provide a strong incentive to bring criminals to justice.
It is necessary to resolutely counter the circumvention or attempts to circumvent sanctions. The Parliamentary Assembly should support the creation of a Register of companies that assist Russian natural or legal persons and entities in circumventing sanctions. Appropriate restrictive measures should be imposed on them within the Council of Europe and its member States.