SPEAKERS

Anastacia Galouchka, Expert in Foreign Policy and International Law at the International Center for Policy Studies

Vasyl Filipchuk, Senior Advisor, International Center for Policy Studies
  
David Geer, Head of Division, Sanctions policy, European External Action Service
 
Paul Ivan, Senior Policy Analyst, European Policy Centre

Amanda Paul, Senior Policy Analyst, European Policy Centre (Moderator)

As a consequence of Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and ongoing hostilities in the Donbas, the EU, along with the US, imposed sanctions on Russia in 2014. These sanctions, which are linked to Russia fulfilling the Minsk agreements, have been renewed and steadily ratcheted up over the past five and a half years. While the sanctions have made life more difficult for Moscow, including negatively affecting its ability to obtain technology for its oil and gas sector, as of yet, they have not changed Russia’s behaviour. Rather, Russia has learned to live with the sanctions, adapting to the new reality, while also actively seeking out alternative economic opportunities, including in the Far East and Africa. Despite some member states questioning the effect of the sanctions, EU unity has remained intact.
 
This roundtable will look at the impact and effectiveness of sanctions, where sanctions are lacking and how their application could be further improved in order to optimize the results. It will draw on the conclusions of a new paper published by a group of Ukrainian NGOs on the impact of sanctions to be presented by Vasyl Filipchuk, with comments from David Geer and Paul Ivan. The discussion will be moderated by Amanda Paul.