The EU updated a FAQ under its Russia sanctions regime covering whether Russian nationals may temporarily bring personal goods and vehicles, set out in Annex XXI, into the EU for touristic reasons. The FAQ was originally published last week, in which the bloc said no, noting that its regulations bar the purchase, import or transfer of goods in this annex if they originate in Russia or are exported from Russia (see 2309110018).

The U.K. and Italy signed an export and investment partnership during British Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch's visit to Rome, the Department for International Trade announced. The partnership will seek to boost U.K. and Italian "investment links" and "exports in high-performing and growth sectors," including life sciences and digital and tech, the department said. The deal also will look to promote inward investment, including "low-carbon industries such as Offshore Wind and Carbon Capture Storage," the department said. As part of the agreement, Badenoch will co-chair the first U.K. and Italy CEO Forum, which will bring executives together to spur interest in investment in the U.K.

The European Parliament's Industry Committee has adopted measures to increase the supply of strategic raw materials. The moves are meant to "cut red tape, promote innovation along the entire value chain, support [small and medium-sized enterprises] and boost research and development of alternative materials and more environmentally-friendly mining as well as production methods," the parliament announced. The committee noted the importance of establishing partnerships with third countries on strategic raw materials to diversify the bloc's supply, the parliament said. The measures also urge a greater focus on "research and innovation concerning substitute materials." The draft will be put to a vote by the full House during the Sept. 11-14 plenary session.

The EU added a FAQ to its Russia sanctions guidance covering the "import, purchase & transfer of listed goods." The questions ask if a Russian national can temporarily bring personal goods and vehicles into the EU for tourism reasons. The bloc said no, clarifying that its regulations bar the "purchase, import, or transfer, directly or indirectly, of goods as listed in Annex XXI to the Regulation if they originate in Russia or are exported from Russia." This ban includes cars under CN code 8703.

The European Commission released a general guidance document on implementing due diligence practices to halt the circumvention of the sanctions on Russia. The guidance includes risk assessment of possible sanctions circumvention, due diligence best practices, circumvention red flags related to business partners and buyers, and EU sanctions whistleblower tools. The due diligence best practices section addresses the stakeholder and transaction levels and the level of the goods themselves.

The EU General Court this week upheld one application for delisting under the Russia sanctions regime and rejected six others. The court removed former Ozon CEO Aleksandr Shulgin from the sanctions list, saying his relisting was not justified. The court said that given Shulgin had resigned his post and the European Council had not looked in why listing was still proper, he was not properly sanctioned, according to an unofficial translation.

The EU added six individuals to its Global Sanctions Regime for their role in perpetuating "serious human rights violations" in Russia and Ukraine, the European Council announced. The individuals include prosecutors and judges in Russia-occupied Crimea who participated in the "politically motivated court proceedings" against journalist Vladyslav Yesypenko. The council also sanctioned two members of the Russian Federal Security Service who either tortured Yesypenko or investigated him.

The U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority released a review of the country's sanctions systems on Sept. 6, finding firms that carried out risk exposure assessment ahead of Russia's invasion used proper practices. The review also found many firms needing better governance and oversight, and said certain companies were "too reliant on third-party" sanctions compliance tools and didn't align their practices with U.K. sanctions rules. The review spotted various backlogs regarding sanctions screening alerts and said some firms didn't have "adequate internal expertise," the report said.

The U.K. added 11 Russians to its sanctions regime related to cyberattacks against the country. In a Sept. 7 notice, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation imposed restrictions against the individuals for contributing to ransomware attacks that threaten the U.K. and "cause economic loss to, or prejudice the commercial interests of, those companies affected by the activity."

The EU General Court on Sept. 6 upheld the European Council's sanctions listing of Belarusian businessman Mikail Gutseriev, finding that the European Council correctly interpreted the listing criteria to include nonfinancial types of support for the Belarus regime. Gutseriev, sanctioned in 2021, argued that the listing criteria under the Belarus sanctions regime should include only financial support, given its language saying parties shall be listed due to their "benefit from or support for" the Belarus government.