The Centre for the Law of EU External Relations (CLEER), the T.M.C. Asser Instituut and the Multidisciplinary International Network on Sanctions (MINOS) operating at Ghent University invite abstracts for a conference on ‘The European Union as a Sanctioning Actor: Legal and Institutional Developments’ that will take place on 11th December 2026 at the premises of the T.M.C. Asser Institute in The Hague.
Call for abstracts
Over the past decades, the European Union (EU) has become one of the most active sanctioning actors. EU sanctions (restrictive measures) have expanded significantly in scope, frequency and ambition. At this moment, there are over 40 different EU sanctioning regimes in force. Some of them implement UN Security Council resolutions or expand them with stricter and additional measures. The EU also has a long history of imposing autonomous sanctions, a trend that has been reinforced following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
This increasing reliance on sanctions has been accompanied by important legal and institutional developments. Judicial scrutiny by the Court of Justice of the European Union, evolving roles for the EU’s institutions and new anti-circumvention measures have all reshaped the EU sanctions practice. Continued tensions exist between the adoption of sanctions as part of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and other areas of EU law. Tackling sanctions circumvention and ensuring the uniform and effective implementation of restrictive measures, in full respect of fundamental rights and freedoms, remains high on the agenda. The conference aims to take stock of the EU’s evolving sanctioning practice and to answer some of the most pressing conceptual, normative and practical legal questions concerning this practice. We welcome abstracts that address (but are not limited to) the following questions:
- The legal basis for the adoption of EU sanctions and decision-making procedures Judicial review of EU sanctions
- The extraterritorial effects of EU sanctions
- The interaction between EU sanctions and international law
- The interaction between EU sanctions and investment law
- The evolving role of EU institutions in the sanctions’ policy cycle
- The enforcement challenges of EU sanctions
- The coordination of EU sanctions with other sanctioning actors , such as M.S. and third countries
Please submit your abstract (no more than 500 words) and a short bio to both
E.Kassoti@asser.nl and Celia.Challet@UGent.be before 30 April 2026.
Limited travel funds for those who would not otherwise be able to participate are
available upon request. Please indicate in your submission whether you would require travel financial assistance.
The organizers aim to publish the conference proceedings subject to blind peer review.
Time-line:
- Deadline for submission of abstracts: 30 April 2026
- Notification of accepted papers: 15 May 2026
- Submission of draft papers: 1 November 2026
- Conference: 11 December 2026