Imposition of EU sanctions to address the situation in Venezuela

KEY POINTS

The EU Treaties provide the necessary legal bases conferring on the EU the power to impose sanctions (restrictive measures) on governments of non-EU countries, non-state entities and individuals to bring about a change in their policy or activity.

Restrictive measures

The decision and the regulation notably provide for the following measures:

• a ban on the export of arms and equipment which might be used for internal repression (a list of included items is found in Annex I of the regulation);
• a ban on the export of surveillance equipment (a list of included items is found in Annex II of the regulation);
• the freezing of funds¹ (financial assets and benefits of all kinds) and economic resources² of:
  • certain persons, entities and bodies responsible for either serious human rights violations, or the repression of civil society and democratic opposition, or
  • those whose actions, policies or activities otherwise undermine democracy or the rule of law in Venezuela (lists of the individuals, entities and bodies covered may be found in Annexes IV and V of the regulation);
• restrictions on admission of individual persons to the territory of EU countries (‘travel ban’).

The regulation is directly applicable in and binding on the EU countries' competent authorities and thereby ensures uniform application of the measures within the EU, in particular as regards businesses. The decision (imposing the travel ban and arms embargo) is binding on the EU countries but requires national implementation measures.