Recital 4

(4) The effective application of Union restrictive measures necessitates common minimum rules concerning the definitions of criminal conduct violating Union restrictive measures. Member States should ensure that such conduct constitutes a criminal offence when it is intentional and in violation of a prohibition or an obligation that constitutes a Union restrictive measure or that is set out in a national provision implementing a Union restrictive measure, where national implementation of that measure is required. Certain conduct should constitute a criminal offence also if carried out with serious negligence. With regard to the criminal offences defined in this Directive, the notion of ‘serious negligence’ should be interpreted in accordance with national law, taking into account relevant case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union. Member States should be able to decide that violations of Union restrictive measures involving funds, economic resources, goods, services, transactions or activities of a value of less than EUR 10 000 do not constitute criminal offences. The exclusion of certain violations from the scope of this Directive does not affect any obligations laid down in acts setting out Union restrictive measures to ensure that violations are punishable by effective, proportionate and dissuasive criminal or non-criminal penalties.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-10-12 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.