The European Court of Auditors is reviewing the effectiveness of EU trade sanctions and is due to present a report in 2026

Restrictive measures, or sanctions, are a key instrument of the European Union's foreign policy. They aim to prevent conflicts, respond to crises, and deter destabilizing behavior by non-EU countries. Sanctions can include trade restrictions, financial restrictions, asset freezes, travel bans, and more. They are binding on all EU citizens and companies, as well as on European companies' subsidiaries abroad.

The most extensive EU sanctions were introduced in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. They mainly affect Russia, but also Belarus and Iran. The restrictions cover trade in energy, high-tech goods, dual-use goods, luxury goods, diamonds, and other critical sectors. Since 2014, the EU has gradually expanded the scope of sanctions and, in 2024, further extended export restrictions to companies from countries such as China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, India, Serbia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Turkey, and the UAE. This was in response to their potential involvement in circumventing the sanctions regime.

According to estimates by the European External Action Service, the total value of export restrictions on Russia currently amounts to €52 billion, representing 58% of pre-war EU exports to that country. Import restrictions are estimated at €95 billion, or about 61% of pre-war imports from Russia.

However, the effectiveness of the sanctions regime depends on the coordinated and systematic implementation of sanctions at the national level. EU countries remain responsible for their implementation, while the European Commission provides overall oversight. At the same time, there are significant differences between countries in their practices for applying sanctions, including the number of responsible authorities, procedures for detecting violations, and approaches to enforcement.

In response to these challenges, the European Court of Auditors has launched an audit to assess how effectively the Commission supports EU countries in implementing trade sanctions, including measures to prevent their circumvention. The auditors will focus on whether an effective monitoring system is in place, whether gaps in the implementation of sanctions are addressed in a timely manner, and whether their overall impact is analyzed. They will also visit several Member States to gather information on the ground.

The audit report is expected in about a year. Until then, the auditors will refrain from public comments so as not to prejudice the audit.

Source: Official website of the European Union