Response to interpellation 2024/25:192 on circumventions of the sanctions against Russia
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
M argues that the government is actively working to counter the circumvention of sanctions through new measures, strengthened enforcement, and cooperation with the EU 1. M emphasizes that authorities shall cooperate to streamline the work 2 3 and that it is a collective responsibility for the entire EU to ensure that the sanctions are effective 4. M considers the current sanctions to be the most powerful ever 4 and that it is crucial that actors in third countries do not contribute to the circumvention 4. S argues that the government has not acted powerfully or quickly enough 5 and that Sweden must take greater responsibility to stop the sanction fraud 6. S considers that authorities lack tools and demand expanded resources and clearer regulatory letters 5 6.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Utrikesministern Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)
Mr. Speaker! Aida Birinxhiku has asked Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Benjamin Dousa what concrete measures the government intends to take to ensure that the sanctions against Russia are not bypassed. The work within the government is distributed such that it is I who shall answer the interpellation.
Russia continues its brutal war of aggression against Ukraine, which has far-reaching consequences for the civilian population and constitutes a serious threat to European security. Therefore, the pressure on Russia needs to increase, among other things through additional sanctions as well as by ensuring compliance with already imposed sanctions.
The government is actively working in both of these tracks to counter the circumvention of the Russian sanctions via third countries. Among other things, the government proposes and pushes for further measures in the sanction packages aimed at closing loopholes and countering circumvention. A number of the proposals that Sweden has initiated have been incorporated into the sanctions, for example, measures targeting the shadow fleet and Russian exports of natural gas.
In addition to pushing for further measures in the sanction packages, the government is continuously working to strengthen the national implementation of the sanctions. As part of this work, the government on 8 May tasked a number of authorities with strengthening the work to ensure compliance with international sanctions. The purpose is to streamline the authorities' cooperation in the work to counter sanction violations.
The work linked to compliance concerns a number of authorities in Sweden, while violations of the sanctions legislation are handled within the framework of the Swedish Police Authority's and other judicial authorities' activities.
Sweden has a close cooperation with the Commission and other EU Member States on issues concerning national implementation of the sanctions. There is, among other things, an ongoing dialogue with the Commission on compliance issues within the framework of the Commission's regular high-level meetings.
Sweden intends to continue to be a driving force within the EU to tighten sanctions and counter circumvention, including regarding the shadow fleet as well as Russian imports of sensitive dual-use products.
As a complement to the economic measures already introduced, the government has also, together with a number of like-minded EU member states, initiated a proposal to introduce broad import tariffs on goods from Russia.
Furthermore, the government intends to continue the work of strengthening the national implementation. The full effect of the sanctions can only be achieved if we jointly pool our efforts to ensure compliance.
Aida Birinxhiku (S)
Mr. Speaker! I thank the Minister for Foreign Affairs for the answer to the interpellation and for the clarity that Sweden will support Ukraine for as long as it is needed.
In the restless world we find ourselves in, we must take greater responsibility to not only support Ukraine but also exert economic pressure on Russia. Therefore, it is completely unacceptable that the sanctions against Russia continue to be bypassed.
It is the member states' responsibility to ensure that the EU's sanctions against Russia are complied with. This is already happening in a successful way in many EU countries. However, it is quite obvious that the Swedish government has not acted forcefully enough to stop circumventions in Sweden.
Recently, it was reported that Swedish satellite antennas have ended up in the Russian defense industry despite current export restrictions. It is one of many cases that the media have reported on where sanctions are bypassed via neighboring countries, furthermore without any charges being filed.
Sweden is one of the few EU countries where not a single indictment for sanctions violations has been filed yet. Instead, Swedish authorities stand completely helpless and lack the tools to be able to stop these circumventions in Sweden.
Mr. Speaker! It was against this background that we Social Democrats already last winter, almost a year ago, presented several concrete proposals to stop circumventions in Sweden. We demanded, among other things, that a sanctions council be established where relevant authorities can cooperate regarding sanctions compliance, that a reporting obligation be introduced for authorities that discover or suspect sanctions violations, and that the penalties for sanctions violations should be tightened, among other things through significantly increased corporate fines and by criminalizing certain non-autonomous forms of crime, to mention a few examples.
We Social Democrats submitted a committee initiative in the Committee on Industry where we demanded that the government, in view of the urgent nature of the issue, should work further with the proposals immediately. This initiative was unfortunately voted down by the government parties and by the Sweden Democrats, who were not even open to processing the matter further.
Mr. Speaker! I welcome that the government is now proceeding with several of these proposals, but I must say that the process is remarkably slow, especially considering the serious and urgent nature of the issue, as I have said.
Other countries in Europe have acted faster and tougher, and now it is high time that the Swedish government does the same. We cannot let the inability to prevent and stop sanctions violations undermine the strong confidence that Sweden actually has when it comes to the support for Ukraine.
I would therefore like to ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs: Can she give any information at all as to when the proposals can become a reality?
Utrikesministern Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)
Mr. Speaker! To begin with, I would like to say that I am very pleased that there is broad support for the work on sanctions against Russia. The sanctions are important, and they have an effect. Russia tries to spread a narrative that the sanctions do not have an effect, but we know that they do. Therefore, we must continue to constantly find new ways forward.
The Government assumes that all Swedish actors follow current legislation, including the EU's regulations in the sanctions area, which are binding and directly applicable throughout the Union. We take sanctions circumvention and any sanctions violations seriously, and therefore we are now reviewing the criminal legislation in the area.
We have appointed an inquiry to produce legislative proposals as a consequence of an EU directive that was adopted this spring. The inquiry, which submitted its report in June, proposed, among other things, a new sanctions act. According to the report, the proposed law would expand the criminal area. It would also provide for increased penalties, meaning that minor cases of sanctions offenses and also aiding and attempting sanctions offenses would be criminalized.
The investigation also proposes what the interpellator raises, namely a reporting obligation. Here, I would say that one is opening the doors. The reporting obligation means that authorities handling matters with a connection to international sanctions shall make a report to the Police Authority or the Prosecution Authority if there is reason to assume that crimes under the new law have been committed. According to the investigation's proposal, which has been out for consultation, legislation is to be introduced in May.
I also want to say something about the importance of information. When the EU adopts new sanction packages, there is a need to disseminate information about the new measures to authorities and other actors in the Member States. Here, the Commission has an important role to play, particularly regarding the development of guidance to facilitate regulatory compliance.
At the same time, the member states' authorities need to stay updated in order to be able to assist companies and other actors who want to do their utmost to comply with the sanctions. This can sometimes be complex, and therefore it is important that one can receive support from the authorities. We are actively working to reach out to the business community to inform them about the sanctions.
An example in this context is the brochure "R ysk teknikanskaffning", which the Swedish Security Service, the Swedish Customs Service, and the Inspectorate for Strategic Products have developed. It aims to inform Swedish companies in order to avoid precisely sanctions circumvention. This shows that our authorities are actively working to disseminate information.
As I said initially, this is a task that must be ongoing. One must constantly develop new sanctions but also close gaps where it is seen that the sanctions can be bypassed. We are working hard.
Aida Birinxhiku (S)
Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Minister for Foreign Affairs, for the answer!
Let me first and foremost specify why the government's actions raise questions. We Social Democrats noted the issue as early as the summer of 2023, and subsequently, in August of that same year, the former Minister for Foreign Trade tasked Kommerskollegium with looking more closely at the circumventions. The Minister for Foreign Trade then stated that the assignment would be completed in the near future so that any measures could be taken quickly.
Despite this, it was not until the end of November 2023 that the government tasked Kommerskollegium to not only map out trade patterns but also, reasonably, propose concrete measures that can be taken to stop sanctions circumvention. That the assignment was not given earlier is noteworthy, and the Foreign Minister is welcome to elaborate further on this.
The Board of Trade presented several concrete proposals later, in February 2024. It is thus almost a year since then, but despite this, very few of the proposals are realized today.
Throughout the entire process, the media have repeatedly reported on how companies circumvent the sanctions and how Swedish authorities stand completely helpless. It is against this background, Mr. Speaker, that I mean the government has done far too little and acted far too late. This is remarkable considering that, according to the Foreign Minister, the issue is being taken most seriously.
Mr. Speaker! The government could also do much more to stop the sanctions violations here and now. There are several measures that the government can proceed with immediately, such as carrying out more targeted information campaigns, as it is obviously needed, strengthening and clarifying mandates in regulatory letters, and expanding resources to the relevant authorities.
This is important, and that is why we Social Democrats in our budget proposal double the appropriations to the Swedish Inspectorate of Strategy (Kommerskollegium) so that they can work with sanctions compliance. There are therefore several concrete measures that the government can and should proceed with here and now, and I hope the Foreign Minister agrees with this, as she is clear that it is an ongoing work. The sanctions are being bypassed here and now, and there is no time to lose.
Mr. Speaker! In order to support Ukraine wholeheartedly, we must put a stop to the sanctions cheating. So far, the message from the government is that the relevant authorities have been given a mandate to have an ongoing dialogue with the Commission and that they are analyzing the consultation responses on the sanctions investigation. That is good but far from sufficient, and therefore my question is whether the Minister for Foreign Affairs is prepared to take any new measures. More information initiatives, clearer wording in the regulatory letters and increased resources – is the government prepared to proceed with these or other measures to accelerate this work and put a stop to the sanctions cheating in Sweden?
Utrikesministern Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)
Mr. Speaker! As we note, the full effect of the sanctions is only achieved when we truly ensure that effective implementation exists and that we can counter any circumvention.
At the national level, the government has therefore decided, among other things, that the authorities primarily affected by the implementation of sanctions shall participate in a cooperation council under the leadership of the Police Authority. The purpose is to streamline the authorities' joint work to counter sanction violations, and it is a number of authorities that are included here. They have also been tasked with reviewing their internal working methods to ensure that the sanctions are complied with, and we look forward to a report from them as early as January.
At the EU level, the government has an ongoing dialogue with the European Commission and other Member States to ensure that the sanctions are complied with. The Commission has also noted that Sweden has made significant progress in the work of implementing the sanctions, both regarding agency coordination and regarding preventive measures. Added to this is the new legislation that is to enter into force next year.
Within the framework of our chairmanship in the informal foreign and security policy cooperation with the Nordic and Baltic countries, Sweden has also hosted a sanctions meeting in that circle during the autumn, with the aim of discussing the circumvention of the Russian sanctions and identifying possible countermeasures. An issue that constantly arises in our dialogues, most recently in a NATO context and also in an OSCE context, is the so-called shadow fleet. It is constantly a game of cat and mouse, so to speak, where boats are renamed and re-flagged and we constantly have to be on our toes to keep up.
We have a close cooperation with both the United Kingdom and the rest of the EU to ensure that more vessels are listed, which is an ongoing work where Sweden contributes very actively. We will also continuously adopt new sanction packages in the council, and Sweden has also contributed there.
Aida Birinxhiku (S)
Mr. Speaker! I thank the Minister for Foreign Affairs for this debate.
I am proud that Sweden has several times taken the lead when it comes to support for Ukraine. Just because we have done so, we should be an example within the EU when it comes to detecting, preventing, and stopping the circumvention of sanctions at the national level. That is not how it looks today, however; on the contrary, and therefore the government needs to do much more and act much faster to stop the sanction violations in Sweden.
It is positive that several measures are finally underway. As I mentioned in my previous speech, I wonder if there are more interventions that the government can proceed with here and now—and that the government should proceed with here and now, given what is at stake. I note that I did not receive any information from the Foreign Minister there.
Mr. Speaker! That Sweden allows these circumventions to continue risks undermining the strong confidence we have regarding the support for Ukraine. It is a confidence that becomes increasingly important in the restless world around us, where Sweden must take greater responsibility. We need to take greater responsibility to support Ukraine, and we need to take greater responsibility to keep the economic pressure on Russia up. Therefore, it is absolutely fundamental that we once and for all put a stop to the sanctions fraud in Sweden.
Utrikesministern Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)
Mr. Speaker! As I have explained in this interpellation debate, the government is working actively, both nationally and internationally, to ensure that the sanctions against Russia are effective. But I also want to emphasize that this work is collective and long-term. The entire EU - member states, institutions, companies, and private individuals - have a shared responsibility to ensure that the sanctions are actually complied with.
It is also crucial that we ensure that actors in third countries do not contribute to the circumvention of the sanctions, which is the case today. Therefore, it is welcome that the EU has a sanctions envoy in the form of David O'Sullivan, who is very active in his contacts with global partners. We see that the envoy's work is yielding results and enhancing activities in third countries.
Finally, it is important to remember that Russia is conducting extensive economic deception to make us in the West believe that the sanctions are not having an effect, but as I said at the beginning, that is not the case. We now have the most powerful and far-reaching sanctions against Russia ever, which means both reduced revenues for the Russian state treasury and a reduced capacity for Russia to conduct its warfare against Ukraine. While we must continue to work for more sanctions and better compliance, we must keep this in mind.
If we in the EU and the West can hold together, the time is on Ukraine's side, and also on our side. I am, as I said, very pleased that there is a consensus regarding both the need for support for Ukraine and the need to tighten the sanctions.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.