Representatives from eighteen EU Member States participated in the Workshop “New technologies and effective implementation of EU sanctions” organised in Riga, Latvia, on 25 April 2023 by the Council of Europe’s Economic Crime and Cooperation Division in cooperation with the European Commission, Directorate General for Structural Reform Support (DG REFORM), together with the State Revenue Service and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia.

The Workshop was organised in the framework of the joint Technical Support Instrument (TSI) initiative “Effective and uniform implementation of the sanctions’ regime in EU member states”, through which the Council of Europe is supporting the National Competent Authorities of the Czech Republic, Latvia and Malta, but also of other EU Member States, in strengthening their capacities to effectively implement the EU restrictive measures against the Russian Federation.

The event brought together more than 60 representatives of the National Competent Authorities responsible for sanctions’ implementation, including representatives of the Financial Intelligence Units, Central Banks, and other supervisory authorities. Representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Financial Intelligence Unit of Latvia presented the Latvian framework for implementation of EU sanctions and the risks and typologies of potential circumvention of EU sanctions in Latvia. Furthermore, the representative of the Financial Analytical Office of the Czech Republic shared the experience on practical implementation of EU sanctions in the Czech Republic. 

Moreover, the participants benefited from the presentations delivered by the Council of Europe experts on the different topics related to practical implementation of EU regulatory requirements across the EU Member States. Specific sessions were dedicated to the supervision of payment institutions and specificities of this sector regarding sanctions evasion, as well as on preventing the abuse of gatekeepers and related sanctions evasion risks. In addition, the participants had the opportunity to discuss different aspects of application of blockchain monitoring tools in freezing and seizing of custodial wallets, as well as to discuss the impact of the new technologies in the implementation of international sanctions. Finally, the representative of the Bank of Latvia delivered a presentation on the effective monitoring of payment export/import flows, which included practical examples of analysing the collected data on payments for developing outreach materials to support the implementation of EU sanctions by the private sector and the competent authorities. All presentations were followed by fruitful discussions and the exchanges among the National Competent Authorities and with the Council of Europe experts.

This event was preceded by the Workshop “Enhancing effectiveness of implementation of EU sanctions by the private sector”, organised as an outreach activity for the representatives of private sector entities and professionals from the EU Member States.

The activity was organised within the framework of the Technical Support Instrument (TSI) initiative on “Effective and uniform implementation of the sanctions’ regime in EU Member States”, funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe, and implemented by the Council of Europe.