Council Decision on identifying the violation of Union restrictive measures as an area of crime under Art. 83(1) TFEU and EC Communication Towards a Directive on criminal penalties for the violation of Union restrictive measures

On 25 May 2022, the Commission tabled a proposal for a Council Decision to add the violation of Union restrictive measures to the list of EU-crimes provided for in Article 83(1) TFEU. According to the Commission Proposal, the violation of restrictive measures satisfies the criteria set out in Article 83(1) TFEU as:

- it is a crime in a majority of Member States;

- it is a particular serious crime, since it may perpetuate threats to international peace and security; and

- it has a clear cross-border dimension which requires a uniform response at EU and global level.

The Council agreed on 30 June 2022 to forward the text to the European Parliament for consent. The European Parliament gave its consent on 7 July 2022. In light of Parliament’s consent, the Council can adopt the Decision on identifying the violation of Union restrictive measures as an area of crime that meets the criteria specified in Article 83(1) of the TFEU. On 28 November 2022, the Council adopted the Decision. Based on the Decision, the list of EU crimes is extended for the first time. This will allow the Commission to propose a Directive under the ordinary legislative procedure, which could approximate the definition of such a new criminal offence and its penalty.