Unpacking the Package: EU Sanctions Against Russia as a Governance Structure

Abstract This article argues that the European Union’s (EU) sanctions packages against Russia are developing into a long-term governance structure that goes beyond the classical instruments of foreign policy. Without being legally permanent, Russia sanctions occupy a novel legal-political space: Repeated and expansive packages and their links to EU economic policy and criminal-law measures have created a durable framework for making, applying, and enforcing sanctions. Arguing that this emerging governance structure is extending beyond the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) into other areas of EU regulation, this article focuses on this institutional development.