New coordination office
EU Commissioner for Financial Services Maria Luis Albuquerque announced a new dedicated office to bolster sanctions work on Nov. 5. This office will strengthen coordination, provide faster guidance to Member States and improve data sharing and analysis. The announcement followed two meetings on Nov. 5 where Albuquerque hosted a session for EU countries and institutions to address sanctions loopholes and David O’Sullivan, the EU’s sanctions envoy, hosted a session for sanctions coordinators. Siobhan McGarry, the European Commission spokesperson, told the Kyiv Independent that the dedicated office will maximize the impact of sanctions on Russia itself. Albuquerque said in a social media post that the office helps the EU present a more united front on the global stage, engage better with G7 and likeminded partners, and deliver stronger impact and more effective implementation within the EU and outside. The move is a necessary step to prevent the circumvention of existing measures through improved coordination.
Crypto loophole task force
Albuquerque also launched a task force dedicated to cryptocurrency sanctions to prevent the use of digital assets to bypass existing restrictions. Siobhan McGarry said, "Crypto is a tool that has been used to circumvent our sanctions," and explained that the task force will bring together experts to design measures to close loopholes. The task force is initially envisaged to work for 12 months and will draw on expertise from third countries like Ukraine and the U.K. as the latter has already drawn up extensive sanctions targeting the crypto industry. This task force addresses the obvious problem that crypto assets facilitate the evasion of sanctions. The group aims to design measures after the EU rolled out progressively more restrictions on the crypto industry.
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Task force duration | 12 months |
| Expert sources | National, EU, Ukraine, U.K. |
| Target area | Cryptocurrency |
The task force targets the fact that crypto assets provide a way to bypass current restrictions. It will use expertise from third countries like Ukraine to design specific measures. This effort addresses the loopholes identified in recent meetings. The group will leverage expertise from countries like the U.K. and Ukraine to design measures that specifically address how digital assets are being used to bypass the restrictions the EU has progressively implemented. This reality allows for the evasion of current EU sanctions. The U.K. has already drawn up extensive sanctions targeting the crypto industry.
