Brussels demands that the EU member states work urgently to stop the illegal flow of goods to Russia.  

In a letter sent to the EU’s capitals, the EC warned there was a need for “immediate, concerted, and decisive action from all of us.” Although the sanctions are agreed upon at the EU level, their enforcement is the responsibility of individual governments, which the EC oversees.

Sanctioned goods from the EU are delivered to Russia first through non-EU countries and then re-exported to the aggressor state, as well as through subsidiaries of European companies outside the bloc. These dual-purpose goods are usually items and technologies that are not weapons themselves but can be used for military purposes.

However, Russia even manages to import Italian Beretta sniper rifles. EU countries are ordered to “prosecute EU operators who actively undermine EU sanctions” and to deter companies from exploiting sanctions loopholes by publishing the “most egregious” cases and their associated penalties.

At the same time, Taiwan banned the export of 77 types of high-performance machines to Russia and Belarus to prevent the use of Taiwanese technologies in Russia’s war against Ukraine.