The escalation of the crisis in Ukraine reached a tipping point upon the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, resulting in the European Union showing greater-than-ever capacity to demonstrate a cohesive foreign policy and to opt for the introduction of economic sanctions against the Russian Federation. Beyond general restrictive economic and commercial measures, these sanctions also include specific measures imposed on individuals as well as punitive economic diplomacy. Since the EU, its Member States and Russia are all members of the World Trade Organization, this raises the question of how these sanctions can be interpreted in the framework of WTO law. To this end, this paper intends to examine the general background to the sanctions, place them in the context of WTO law, and consider how these measures might claim to be justified.*
Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) code: F510 – International Conflicts; Negotiations; Sanctions; F13 – Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations; N4 – Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation.
