Italy’s move towards criminalization of EU restrictive measures’ violations
Across the European Union (“EU”), the enforcement of restrictive measures has long been characterized by fragmentation. While sanctions are adopted at Union level, their implementation and enforcement remain the responsibility of Member States — resulting in a patchwork of divergent penalties, investigative approaches and ‘levels’ of enforcement.
Indeed, in some jurisdictions, breaches are treated merely as administrative violations; in others, they are prosecuted as criminal offences, often entailing imprisonment and/or corporate liability. This lack of uniformity has raised persistent concerns in Brussels, primarily because it encourages forum shopping by economic operators attempting to seek jurisdictions with softer enforcement. In this context, many called for deeper harmonisation, advocating for shared investigative standards and stronger cross-border coordination to close enforcement gaps.
