European Union releases new sanction package as peace negotiations heat up

On 24 February 2025, the EU formally adopted its 16th package of sanctions measures against Russia, marking the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The 16th Package aims to further weaken Russia’s economic and military capabilities by targeting sources of revenue for Russia, notably by broadening restrictions on Russian oil exports and introducing a new import ban on primary aluminum from Russia. At the same time, the focus of the 16th Package is clearly on tightening the existing sanctions regime and taking robust action to address circumvention practices, including with respect to Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet”. Additionally, the measures include new restrictions on video game controllers, which could be repurposed for military purposes and the application of a transaction...To read the full article, please see the PDF file

Competition Law / International Trade & Europe Newsletter Download PDF [198 KB]

Authors

Victor CROCHET

Partner
Brussels

With regard to EU law, Victor advises governments and corporations on how to navigate the intricacies of EU regulations with a particular focus on assisting clients impact the legislative developments of new regulations and comply with them. Victor also assists companies and governments in trade remedy investigations. He has advised clients in over fifty anti-dumping, anti-subsidy and safeguard investigations, successfully obtaining no or low duties for exporters in several instances. Furthermore, Victor has extensive experience in litigating before the Court of Justice of the European Union where he has successfully challenged several measures adopted by the EU institutions.

Turning to international economic law, Victor assists governments in WTO proceedings before panels and the Appellate Body and other appeal arrangements. His experience also includes advising governments and multinational corporations on a variety of economic policy matters such as providing legal opinions regarding the legality of measures adopted by the EU as well as third countries under international trade and investment law. Finally, Victor often assists governments with international trade and investment negotiations by helping them develop persuasive arguments during negotiations and ensure compliance with agreed upon rules.

Victor also teaches part of the course on international trade law at Cambridge University.

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Eamonn ARBUCKLE

Associate
Brussels

+32-(0)471-12-48-17

Kojiro FUJII

Partner
Brussels

Kojiro Fujii specializes in the fields of competition law and international trade law. He also covers emerging areas of digital policy/regulations and public policy/regulations, such as those related to sustainability. His expertise in these areas is frequently recognized by international and domestic legal publications. Kojiro also is regularly ranked by Chambers (Band 1 International Trade, Japan and Band 2 TMT, Japan) and Who’s Who Legal (Competition). He achieved the highest ranking in the “International Trade and Economic Security” category of Nikkei’s “Most successful lawyers” (as voted by Japanese companies and peer lawyers) in 2022; he was recognized by Asian Legal Business as one of the Top 15 Technology, Media and Telecommunications Lawyers in Asia in 2023; and he was shortlisted for the FT Innovative Lawyers Awards Asia-Pacific as the Most Innovative Practitioner for his work covering those areas in 2024.

In addition to his career at N&A, he served as the deputy director of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, where he handled several important WTO disputes on behalf of the Japanese government. He also worked at a highly reputable international law firm in Washington DC, where he focused on antitrust matters.

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