EU Sanctions Against Russia: Current Status, Prospects, and Challenges

Key Chapter Title List

1. EU Sanctions on Russia: Current Status (January 2025)
2. Other Developments in 2024: Two New Sanctions Regimes and an EU Directive on Violations of Sanctions
3. Impact on EU-Russia Trade
4. Restrictive Measures Concerning Human Rights Violations in Russia
5. Restrictive Measures Targeting Russia's "Hybrid Attacks"
6. Directive on Harmonizing Criminal Offenses and Penalties for Violating EU Sanctions
7. Using Proceeds from Frozen Russian Central Bank Assets to Aid Ukraine
8. Challenges and Prospects for 2025
9. European Parliament's Position and Actions
10. Overview Table of Sanctions Regimes (Categorized by Targeted Activities)

Document Introduction

This report is the latest policy brief published by the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) in 2025, aiming to systematically assess the current status, effectiveness, and future challenges of the sanctions measures implemented by the EU in response to Russia's illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Based on official EU data, legislative texts, and research from international institutions, the report provides an authoritative overview and analysis of the 15 rounds of sanctions packages cumulatively introduced over the past three years, offering a crucial benchmark for understanding the core instruments of current European policy towards Russia.

The report first outlines the evolution and overall framework of EU sanctions. Since February 2022, the EU, in coordination with key partners such as the United States and the United Kingdom, has unprecedentedly and rapidly adopted extensive sanctions covering political elites, key economic sectors, the financial system, dual-use technologies, and specific commodities. The objectives of the sanctions are to weaken Russia's economic foundation and war-fighting capacity while restricting its access to military technology and critical components. Specific measures include travel bans and asset freezes targeting nearly 2,400 individuals and entities (freezing assets of approximately €24.9 billion), as well as the freezing of around €210 billion in reserve assets of the Russian Central Bank. In the trade domain, the EU has imposed restrictions covering over 54% of exports and 58% of imports from Russia, involving key sectors such as energy (crude oil, coal, certain petroleum products), steel, luxury goods, diamonds, and has jointly with the G7 implemented a price cap mechanism on Russian crude oil and petroleum products.

The report focuses on analyzing the core challenge of sanctions enforcement and circumvention. Due to the complexity of global supply chains and the non-participation of major economies like China and India in sanctions against Russia, circumvention persists. EU exports to Russia's neighbors and major trading partners (such as Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, etc.) saw significant growth between 2021 and 2023, highlighting the risk of transshipment via third countries. To address this, the EU introduced a dedicated "anti-circumvention tool" in the 11th sanctions package, authorizing the prohibition of exports of sensitive goods to high-risk third-country operators under specific conditions. The 12th package added a contractual clause requirement for "no re-export to Russia" and established a "Common High Priority Items" (CHPIs) list coordinated with the US, UK, and Japan to strengthen control over critical items usable on the battlefield. Furthermore, the EU has taken several restrictive measures targeting Russia's "shadow fleet" used to circumvent the oil price cap.

The report details two significant expansions of the EU sanctions system in 2024: first, a new sanctions regime established to address human rights violations and political repression within Russia; second, another new sanctions regime created to counter Russia's "hybrid attacks" in Europe and elsewhere (such as undermining democratic processes, cyber-attacks, instrumentalization of migration, etc.). Concurrently, the EU Directive (EU) 2024/1226, adopted in April 2024, for the first time requires all member states to criminalize violations and circumvention of EU sanctions and sets minimum penalty standards, aiming to address the uneven enforcement across member states and strengthen cross-border investigation and prosecution cooperation.

Regarding the use of assets, the report notes that the EU and G7 have reached an agreement and begun implementing the use of "excess proceeds" generated from frozen Russian Central Bank assets to aid Ukraine. In July 2024, the EU provided Ukraine with the first €1.5 billion from such proceeds for military, defense industry, and reconstruction purposes. Larger-scale loan programs under the G7 framework have also been initiated.

Looking ahead to 2025, the report enumerates potential areas for strengthening the effectiveness of sanctions, including further reducing dependence on Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) and pipeline gas, expanding the scope of import bans or increased tariffs (e.g., fertilizers, aluminum, nickel, etc.), enhancing the blockade of battlefield supplies flowing into Russia, and improving the centralization and consistency of sanctions enforcement within the EU (such as exploring the establishment of an institution similar to the US Office of Foreign Assets Control). The report also cites several European Parliament resolutions, reflecting the Parliament's ongoing calls for more severe sanctions (such as a comprehensive ban on Russian LNG and the confiscation of frozen Russian state assets for Ukraine's reconstruction).

This report integrates the latest trade data, legislative developments, and policy debates, serving as an indispensable professional reference for studying EU sanctions policy towards Russia, assessing its economic impact, and discerning the future trajectory of geopolitical dynamics.