EU approves sanctions regime similar to Magnitsky Act

The EU countries have negotiated a sanctions regime, similar to the US Magnitsky act, which will enable the EU to impose sanctions against those the Union deems responsible for violation of human rights in any country of the world, according to a diplomatic source in one of the delegations to the European Council.

"The general decision to introduce the sanctions regime for serious violations and abuses in the human rights field has been made. The EU Ambassadors will adopt a formal decision without discussion today," TASS cited the diplomat as saying.

Once the envoys approve the sanctions regime, it will be officially endorsed by the European Council, he concluded. "We expect this decision to be adopted by the European Council at the nearest ministerial meetings," the source added.

In September, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen informed that an act similar to the Magnitsky Act is being developed by the EU.

The Magnitsky Act was signed by then-U.S. President Barack Obama in 2012 to freeze assets and impose travel bans on Russian individuals involved in human rights abuses. In December 2016, Congress voted to expand it into the Global Magnitsky Act in other parts of the world.

After that, similar acts were approved in Canada, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, with the corresponding bills being under discussion in several other states.