The European Commission announced plans for a sanctions office and an informal crypto task force, aiming to tighten enforcement as the bloc prepares another Russia sanctions package.
Commissioner for Financial Services and the Savings and Investments Union Maria Luís Albuquerque announced the initiatives on Nov. 5 at the 10th meeting of the High-Level Group on Union Restrictive Measures.
The proposed office would connect the Commission’s sanctions policy with outreach, enforcement and efforts to prevent restrictions from being bypassed. Member states would get quicker access to Commission guidance, data sharing and economic or technical analysis, the Commission said. It said the support is intended to make national implementation more consistent and increase the sanctions’ impact on Russia.
At a Nov. 6 briefing, European Commission spokesperson Siobhan McGarry said the task force would be informal and bring together Commission and member-state specialists to develop measures addressing crypto-related sanctions evasion. “Crypto is a tool that has been used to circumvent our sanctions,” she said. The briefing did not set a schedule or identify specific measures for the task force.
The Nov. 5 meeting also included a separate forum for EU member states and international partners, including Ukraine and the United Kingdom. The Commission’s announcement described that forum separately from the crypto task force.
The initiative builds on restrictions already adopted by the EU. The Council of the European Union said its 21st sanctions package, adopted July 23, extended transaction restrictions to 14 crypto-related service platforms. It also introduced a mechanism for a full third-country ban on crypto-asset services, allowing the EU to block its operators from transacting with crypto providers used by Russia.
The Commission referred to 21 sanctions packages adopted over four years of war. At the Nov. 6 briefing, it said work was underway on a 22nd package but gave no timetable.
