EU officials meet Maltese sanctions team

Over the last two days, a delegation of Commission officials responsible for sanctions met with Maltese officials responsible for sanctions implementation and enforcement.

On 5 and 6 October, a delegation of Commission officials responsible for sanctions met with Maltese officials responsible for sanctions implementation and enforcement, including teams from the Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade, the Commerce Department, the Central Bank, customs representatives, as well as the police, maritime authorities, and others. The purpose of the meeting was to focus on sanctions implementation, to exchange views on challenges that arise, to share best practices, and know-how.

During presentations by both sides, the importance of sanctions in helping Ukraine defend itself from illegal Russian aggression was stressed. The Maltese and Commission officials shared their full commitment to EU sanctions, and to work towards making sanctions implementation and enforcement even more effective, notably through intensified information sharing between Member States. During the fruitful exchange between the Maltese authorities and the Commission delegation, the Maltese authorities presented the work performed to implement sanctions against Russia.

Commission sanctions officials have been meeting with the sanctions teams of each EU Member State. This is one in a series of bilateral meetings between Commission sanctions officials and Member State sanctions officials. After eleven packages of sanctions, the focus is now on ensuring consistent implementation across the EU, by authorities and stakeholders. While national authorities are in the lead when it comes to sanctions implementation, the Commission is working closely with all EU Members States in order to support them on implementation, provide information to stakeholders, and engage in a dialogue to collect feedback on how sanctions are implemented.  

This was the first visit by Commission officials to Malta for sanctions implementation. Both sides agreed to continue the dialogue and follow-up on matters of sanctions implementation in the spirit of sincere cooperation.