Today, the European Union is stepping up pressure on Russia’s war machine with its biggest sanctions listings package in four years, alongside new measures targeting war crimes, internal repression and malicious cyber activities adopted last week.

As of 10 April 2026 the European Entry-Exit System (EES) is fully operational at all external border crossing points of the countries using EES.

On this page, learn about the ways in which EU sanctions policy is applied to defend human rights.