1.

Addresses the following recommendations to the Council: Develop clearer definitions (a) to develop clear criteria for when restrictive measures are to be applied, the objectives for such measures, the form of sanctions to be applied, guidelines for their periodic evaluation and the review procedure to be followed in consultation with the European Parliament; to establish the criteria in a way that enhances the consistency and credibility of EU sanctions, but leaves sufficient flexibility at the operational level, enabling the Union to leverage the instrument as an effective tool in its external action; (b) to define clearly and explicitly who is to be sanctioned in the case of failed states or non-state actors, knowing well that the structures are often obscure; (c) to inscribe the sanctions in a comprehensive policy context, establishing specific short-term and long-term objectives for a sustainable democratisation process; (d) to acknowledge that sanctions are not an end in themselves and to accompany their application with clear and achievable benchmarks for the lifting of sanctions; (e) to systematically support the work of the International Criminal Court by ensuring that the procedures and the judgments of the court are duly regarded in EU sanctions policy; (f) to urge the EU Member States to apply the principle of universal jurisdiction in tackling impunity and crimes against humanity, in order to improve the international criminal justice system; Build an efficient sanctions policy (g) to commit to maximizing collaboration and synergy amongst the 27 EU Member States, urging them to speak with a unified and consistent voice on the matter of condemning authoritarian regimes through a single integrated EU approach; (h) to acknowledge that sanctions which are not internationally coordinated can be inefficient and counterproductive to their stated aims, can undermine the transparency, credibility and coherence of the European sanctions policy, and can reinforce the targeted regime or reduce the relative negotiation leeway and credibility of the EU and its Member States with the state in question; to ensure better coordination and exchange of information among Member States by clear procedures; (i) to implement existing sanctions regimes with rigour and consistency, striving to avoid the application of double standards and extending their scope to include cases of violation of fundamental freedoms, and especially of religious freedom and freedom of expression; to ensure that countries belonging to the European Economic Area and applicant countries for accession to the European Union also apply the restrictive measures and exchange relevant information with the Union; (j) to deploy sanctions or restrictive measures which are targeted at and proportionate to the objective pursued, aimed at influencing only the accountable elites of repressive or criminal regimes and the responsible non-state actors of failed states minimising, as far as possible, the adverse impact on civil populations, especially the most vulnerable; (k) to ensure that foreign aid for development or other purposes does not end up being an incentive for the enrichment of authoritarian leaders and their inner circles; (l) to ensure, wherever possible, that the sanctions policy is coupled with support for civil society in the country concerned; to improve the quality and transparency of the reporting stage, so that assistance granted can be quantified precisely and its actual contribution to meeting the needs of civil society accurately assessed; (m) to ensure that there are no double standards when deciding on restrictive measures or sanctions and that these are applied regardless of political, economic and security interests; (n) to ensure that restrictive measures which limit the market activities of European companies in sanctioned countries will not be beneficial to third-country competitors; (o) to ensure that the Member States, as well as EU Heads of Mission and Delegation are closely involved in the process of designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating restrictive measures and their consequences on the ground by providing input for impact assessment, which makes EU presence on the ground essential; to ensure that the relevant information is forwarded promptly to the European Parliament; (p) to ensure that, in countries on which restrictive measures are imposed, the main actors championing democracy and human rights are closely involved in the process of designing, implementing and evaluating restrictive measures; (q) to commit the existing structures within the EEAS and Commission to conduct an in-depth situation analysis of the economic and societal structure of the country in question, prior to and after the adoption of sanctions, thus examining the direct and indirect effects of all specific measures on the political and socioeconomic realms of the society in question, as well as taking into account their impact on business elites, civil society groups, the political opposition and even reform-oriented elements within the government; (r) to commit RELEX Sanctions to fulfil its mandate to conduct research on adopting sanctions, evaluate existing sanctions and develop best practices with regard to the application and implementation of restrictive measures, and to report regularly to the Council and European Parliament on its findings; (s) to commit the EU legal and other relevant services to advise the Council on the precautions required to prevent the circumvention of sanctions by listed individuals; (t) to commit the EEAS and the Commission to a more integrated approach that shares expertise and knowledge in the drawing up, implementation and review of sanctions; (u) to commit the Council and the Commission to allocate sufficient time and resources and employ knowledgeable country experts and staff specialising in human rights for the analyses preceding the design of sanctions and for the evaluation of the effectiveness of sanctions; (v) to commit the Commission and Member States to coordinate the implementation of arms embargoes which are a Member State competence; (w) to commit the Commission and Member States to report annually on the implementation of sanctions efforts and their effectiveness; (x) to call on France and Britain and any non-permanent EU member of the UNSC to use sufficient suasion to ensure that UNSC resolutions are implemented rigorously and thoroughly; (y) to consider, where appropriate, activating ‘essential elements’ clauses in bilateral trade that permit the EU to impose sanctions for breach of human rights and democratic principles and engage in a coherent European foreign policy in order to support measures against authoritarian regimes; Commit to a coherent policy within EU borders (z) to commit EU Member States to declare when persons on the sanction list have physical and financial assets held within their borders, and the approximate value and location of the assets; to call on EU Member States to collaborate in exchanging relevant information, for example through the existing Asset Recovery Offices and the Camden Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network (CARIN): to enhance cooperation between EU Member States in the identification and confiscation of those assets; (aa) to commit all EU Member States to ensure the rigorous application of targeted financial sanctions or restrictive measures such as: — extending Directive 2005/60/EC on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering and terrorist financing to apply in a mandatory way to all attempts to open accounts or deposit money by sanctioned dictators and natural and legal person or entities associated with them, this money being the proceeds of crime, theft and embezzlement: and exploring options for other preventive mechanisms to curb the inflow of misappropriated state funds or assets into EU financial institutions; — the refusal of loans, the tightening of measures aimed at repayment of loans and the freezing of deposits, in order to ensure that, in practice, the measures deny designated persons and entities all access to all financial services within the EU's jurisdiction; (ab) to ensure that restrictive economic and financial measures, including targeted financial sanctions, are applied by all persons and entities operating within the Union, including nationals of third countries, as well as by Union citizens or economic entities operating outside the Union’s borders but registered or established under the legislation of a Member State of the Union; (ac) to ensure that sanctioned leaders, and natural and legal persons and entities clearly associated with them, are strictly prohibited from owning assets and property within the EU; (ad) to commit EU Member States to prohibit schools and universities, think tanks and other academic institutions from accepting funding, grants, or donations from sanctioned leaders and their natural and legal associates and to establish transparency in their private financing; (ae) to commit EU Member States to prohibit sports associations (including football clubs) and charity organisations from accepting funding, grants or donations from sanctioned leaders and their natural and legal associates; (af) to commit the EU and its Member States to strict adherence to travel bans prohibiting sanctioned persons, from travelling within the EU for any purpose other than on humanitarian grounds; (ag) to commit EU Member States to actively investigate and, where appropriate, prosecute persons or legal entities in Europe that have assisted sanctioned leaders and persons associated with them to evade or avoid the sanctions legally imposed against them; Outreach (ah) to commit the EU to build international support and coalitions for its policies, especially with influential actors in the region in question and international organisations, and to associate the European Parliament fully in the process; (ai) to commit the EU to strengthen legitimacy and build broad public and political support for its policies, including restrictive measures and sanctions, at the EU and international levels, especially in the countries of the sanctioned regimes, and to associate the European Parliament fully in the process; (aj) to urge the EU to cooperate, where the UN Security Council has not applied sanctions or restrictive measures, with states that are applying sanctions, to share information and to coordinate measures in order to guarantee the greatest possible impact at international level and maximise the effectiveness of the application of Community sanctions; (ak) to commit the HR/VP, the Heads of Mission and the EEAS to communicate explicitly to sanctioned leaders what is required of them, and to set precise and achievable targets in order to incentivize positive change and to offer appropriate technical assistance; (al) to commit Member States to sharing information on listed individuals, as far as legally possible, with other states, relevant EU bodies and international organisations; (am) to commit Member States to ensure a reasonable degree of public access to information on national measures with regard to restrictive measures applied; (an) to commit the Council to consult the European Parliament fully in the sanctions review process and to seek input from the European Parliament into the political guidelines and framing of wider EU sanctions policy; (ao) to recall that coercive diplomacy must also be matched with positive measures such as development aid, sustainable economic cooperation and support for civil society; (ap) to accompany sanctions and their evaluation with measures based on cooperation and dialogue with civil society organisations and the peoples of targeted countries, with the aim of developing or strengthening a culture of respect for democracy and human rights in the country in question; (aq) to endeavour to mobilise frozen and confiscated assets in order to repatriate them, as soon as possible to their respective countries to the benefit of the population; * * *