EU Adopts 15th Package of Sanctions against Russia’s Aggression Against Ukraine

Today, the Council of the EU adopted its 15th package of restrictive measures, aiming to curb Russia's ability to sustain its war effort and addressing the circumvention of existing sanctions.

• General overview

The new package introduces several significant measures, including:

Ø  Assets freezing measures: Targets 54 individuals and 30 entities involved in undermining Ukraine's sovereignty, including military units, energy sector leaders, and individuals responsible for deportations and propaganda. For the first time, sanctions were imposed on Chinese firms supplying critical components to Russia's military. This means the assets of these individuals and entities are frozen, restricting their access to and use of financial resources;

Ø  Circumvention of sanctions: The EU expanded bans on maritime transport services for vessels aiding Russia’s shadow fleet in circumventing oil price caps or transporting stolen Ukrainian grain. The EU expanded bans on maritime transport services for vessels aiding Russia’s shadow fleet in circumventing oil price caps or transporting stolen Ukrainian grain;

Ø  Trade restrictions: Export restrictions on dual-use goods and technologies now extend to 32 new entities, including companies in third countries such as China, India, and Iran, which have supported Russia's military operations;

Ø  Protection for EU Businesses : Prohibition on recognizing Russian court rulings (e.g., "anti-suit injunctions") that penalize EU companies. Also, measures allow central securities depositories (CSDs) in the EU to unfreeze cash balances to meet legal obligations while avoiding retaliatory asset seizures in Russia (see above).

Ø  Facilitating Divestment: Extended deadlines for EU businesses to exit Russia, enabling a swift and orderly withdrawal from the Russian market.

• Focus: Amendment to Article 6b of Regulation (EU) No 269/2014

The Council introduced an additional exemption framework applicable to the National Settlement Depository (“NSD”).

This amendment allows for the release of frozen funds held by NSD, provided the following cumulative conditions are met:

1.      The exemption applies to frozen funds held by a CSD;

2.      The CSD must have accounts opened with NSD, and vice versa;

3.      An amount must have been debited from the CSD's accounts by NSD under Russian law or an equivalent measure without the CSD's consent;

4.      The released funds must only serve to allow the CSD to fulfill its legal obligations to its participants; and

5.      The funds must not be used in any way that violates sanctions, ensuring no direct or indirect benefit to NSD.

This marks the second time the EU has introduced an exemption framework for NSD after imposing sanctions on it on 3 June 2022. The first exemption, adopted on 6 October 2022 (Article 6b(5) of Regulation (EU) No 269/2014), allowed Member States' competent authorities to release frozen funds held with NSD, provided the applicant had terminated their relationship with NSD before 7 January 2023. The purpose of the 2022 exemption was to reduce the flow of fund release requests, primarily from non-sanctioned individuals and entities whose assets were trapped in custodial chains involving NSD. However, this measure proved insufficient, as the high volume of requests continued to overwhelm national authorities, leaving them unable to process them efficiently.

The new exemption introduced in Article 6b(5j) focuses on the increasing litigation and retaliatory measures in Russia, which have led to the seizure of EU CSD assets. Thanks to this measure, CSDs can now request Member States' competent authorities to unfreeze cash balances and use them to meet their legal obligations to clients. This ensures the stability of the EU’s financial infrastructure while protecting EU companies from retaliatory harm.

See Regulation (EU) 2024/3189, Regulation (EU) 2024/3192, Regulation (EU) 2024/3177 and Regulation (EU) 2024/3183

For more information, please contact:

Bruno Lebrun – Partner – b.lebrun@janson.be

Cédric Alter – Partner – c.alter@janson.be