What Goes Around: The EU's Extralegal Sanctions Regime

The EU recently sanctioned Jacques Baud, a political commentator, under its Russia sanctions, joining other individuals, including previously sanctioned Nathalie Yamb. These sanctions, which impact individuals within or associated with the EU, result in financial restrictions and limitations on various activities, effectively isolating those targeted. The author argues that these sanctions, although permissible under EU foreign policy rules, bypass established legal safeguards, creating an extralegal system. Sanctions are meant to influence behavior, but lack legal recourse in domestic courts. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) primarily reviews the formal accuracy of the rationale behind sanctions but does not assess proportionality or infringement of rights. The author highlights how the EU's use of sanctions is expanding from a foreign policy tool to a domestic one, targeting legal activities like journalism and activism. This circumvents legal protections and constitutes a form of political persecution, and the author calls it a death of democracy. The piece notes the EU's expansion of sanctions mirrors the US's use of them. The piece argues silence on these matters will eventually affect freedoms within our own countries. The author believes a popular uprising is the only hope to fight this regime and calls for political solutions. The author considers the ability to appeal to the ECJ a token gesture with the goal of preventing legal change.