24 Juni 2022
Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs – Make them Pay!
Russland und seine starken Männer sollen buchstäblich für die Kriegsschäden in der Ukraine zahlen. Die Kommission schlägt vor, die Durchsetzung von Sanktionen mit unionsweit einheitlichen Strafandrohungen zu stärken und auf diesem Weg elegant zugleich einen Rechtsgrund für die Einziehung involvierter Vermögenswerte zu schaffen. Diesem Vorhaben stehen ungeachtet seiner politischen Opportunität erhebliche sanktionstechnische, unionsrechtliche und vor allem strafrechtliche Bedenken entgegen, die erhebliche Zweifel an Zulässigkeit und Erfolgsaussichten nähren. Continue reading >>
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23 März 2022
Unmatched Levels of Sanctions Coordination
In early 2022, the European Union (EU) was quick and decisive in imposing an unprecedented set of measures against Russia. Among other things, the EU targeted the Russian Central Bank, which is an extraordinary move, given that central banks are rarely on sanctions lists. Reconciling the interests of 27 Member States is an art itself, especially in a highly sensitive policy area which continues to be dominated by individual Member State interests. Overall, the swiftness of EU measures went beyond most of our expectations. Continue reading >>
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21 März 2022
Are We in for a New Wave of Investment Arbitrations?
In response to the sanctions imposed on Russia, the country has doubled-down and announced a set of retaliatory measures affecting investors from ‘unfriendly’ countries. The scale of potential losses foreign investors face in Russia is probably the largest since the aftermath of the revolution in 1917, which saw mass nationalization and Russia’s default on the foreign debt. However, the legal landscape protecting foreign investors has significantly changed since 1918. Consequently, they have much better legal options today for redressing their financial losses. Continue reading >>
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21 März 2022
Take Down the Wall. And Make Russia Pay for It
EU law allows admitting Ukraine into the Union immediately. This is not only the moral imperative, it would also not require any Treaty revision and mark a return to the classical approach of the first EU accession: accession first, full taking on of the acquis later, with lengthy transitional periods. Ukraine will also require a super Marshall plan to ensure speedy reconstruction. This is doable: the seized – say confiscated – “Russian” money, a bit short of a trillion by now, will be enough, with the EU hopefully topping this amount. Continue reading >>
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18 März 2022
Not the Time for Carrots?
Issuing ‘golden’ passports and residence permits to non-Europeans in return for investment in their national economy has always been controversial. Now with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, these deals have attracted new attention. Since Russians account for a significant share of the customers, there have been widespread calls, including from the European Parliament, for an end to this practice. Can the EU do anything about this? Continue reading >>
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18 März 2022
The Oligarchs Among Us
It is no secret that Russian oligarchs have not only been collecting fancy toys but also various golden passport, that not only have allowed them to make them feel like home in the Europe Union, but also to be a part of “us”. And since the spotlight is already shifting towards how it is that some of these Russian oligarchs are indeed “our” very own oligarchs, there will be questions of what it is that validates the legal status of nationality actually. It is an old question to be fair, but the apparent answer of the day that nationality is what any State makes of it is therefore no less unconvincing and should lead to some soul searching. Continue reading >>11 März 2022
Sanctions for Abramovich, but Schröder Goes Scot-Free
What is the role of citizenship – Russian and European – in the context of the deployment and operation of the sanctions? The question is far from trivial. Indeed, effective rights-focused judicial review of such measures is very weak, allowing the matters of foreign policy and perceived political expediency and retribution to override core constitutional principles and guarantees of the European legal systems at all levels. Let us start with history, to understand what is going on and give it a legal assessment. Continue reading >>01 März 2022
Crypto-assets as a blind spot in sanctions against Russia?
On 24 February 2022, Russia illegally invaded the territory of Ukraine. The international community was quick to condemn this military aggression and to issue sanctions. Missing in today's sanctions strategy, however, is the inclusion of crypto-assets. This is worrying, as it is highly likely that crypto-assets are used to fund the Russian war machine without anyone really seeing it. Continue reading >>
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28 Februar 2022
Hot War and Cold Freezes
In light of mounting pressure to take effective action against Putin, the European Commission and six states (UK, USA, Canada, Germany, France, Italy) agreed last Saturday on yet another bundle of sanctions against Russia. Some of them had been expected, like the exclusion of Russian banks from SWIFT. Others like the freezing of central bank assets came as a bit of a surprise, allegedly even for Vladimir Putin. He should have watched the news more carefully. The United States did the exact same thing to Afghan central bank assets after the Taliban takeover last year. The purpose of this note is to explore the practical and legal implications of this freeze. Continue reading >>
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28 Februar 2022