NETHERLANDS Trends and Developments Contributed by: Sebastiaan Bennink, Sally Eshun, Siqi Zhao and Daniel Webb, Bennink Dunin-Wasowicz
Bennink Dunin-Wasowicz Joan Muyskenweg 22 1096 CJ Amsterdam The Netherlands Tel: +31 20 764 07 63 Email: amsterdam@benninkdunin.com Web: www.amsterdam@benninkdunin.com
EU Sanctions Enforcement in the Netherlands: An Assessment of Enforcement Strategies in View of the Dutch Guidelines on Self-Reporting and the EU Directive on the Criminalisation of Sanctions Violations Introduction Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the EU has adopted a wide range of sanctions target - ing individuals, entities and entire sectors, with the aim of disincentivising Russia’s continued war efforts. While these sanctions are adopted unanimously by all EU member states, their enforcement remains largely the responsibility of the member states themselves. While initiatives such as co-operation between nation - al enforcement bodies and Eurojust and Europol are well under way, the current decentralised enforcement model presents several challenges. These include limited co-ordination between national enforce - ment bodies and the risk of a fragmented approach, where similar violations are met with differing penal - ties depending on the jurisdiction. This “enforcement patchwork” may undermine the overall effectiveness of the sanctions regime. A further key question is whether sanctions viola - tions are being actively investigated and prosecuted across member states and, if so, to what extent. It also remains to be seen how and if individuals or enti- ties under investigation can benefit from co-operating with national competent authorities, and how such co- operation is assessed across different legal systems. In 2024, the EU adopted Directive (EU) 2024/1226, which aims to address these questions by harmonis - ing the enforcement of sanctions violations. This initia - tive is intended to support a more uniform approach to the enforcement of EU sanctions legislation, and to enhance co-ordination across the EU. In parallel, the
Dutch government has published guidelines on vol - untary self-disclosure in relation to criminal offences, including sanctions violations. This article will examine both developments in turn. It will also analyse how the EU Directive and the Dutch guidelines may (or may not) complement one another, and what this means for the national enforcement of EU sanctions violations in the Netherlands. EU Directive On 24 April 2024, the European Parliament and the Council adopted Directive 2024/1226 on the defini - tion of criminal offences and penalties for the viola - tion of EU restrictive measures (the “Directive”). In this section, the authors will first outline the preparatory work that enabled the EU to legislate on the definition of criminal offences related to sanctions violations, before analysing the key provisions of the Directive itself. The EU took the initial step of defining violations of EU sanctions measures as criminal offences falling within its legislative competence under Article 83 (1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) through Council Decision 2022/2332. This is a significant decision because the crimes already cov - ered under this competence include serious cross- border offences such as terrorism, human trafficking, sexual exploitation of women and children and illicit drug trafficking. Including sanctions violations along - side these crimes highlights the importance the EU places on enforcing sanctions, especially in the cur - rent political climate. Once a criminal offence is established as falling within the EU’s legislative competency, the EU can establish
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