Legal Research Of Russia’s Countermeasures To EU Economic Sanctions

The Ukrainian crisis has profoundly changed the international political environment,relations between major powers and Russia’s diplomatic strategy.Russia has actively promoted Russian-European cooperation for many years.Now,the prospect of jointly building political,security,and economic space has basically disappeared as a new iron curtain has fallen between Russia and Europe.While Russia is suffering from strategic pressure,China is rising rapidly,has become the world’s second largest economy,and its overall national strength has rapidly increased.Common external pressure has pushed China and Russia’s relations closer,put them into similar strategic situations.The two countries rely on each other and the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination has become increasingly close.Therefore,there is an urgent need to conduct a comprehensive study,consideration and analysis of Russia’s adaptive sanctions strategy system,especially the current problems and deficiencies in Russia’s legislation in this field.However,domestic scholars have paid less attention to this aspect,and have not fully sorted out or studied the legal framework and practice of sanctions by EU member states.Recently,the relationship between China and Europe in the political and economic fields has heated up,and there have been many discussions about whether the friction between the two countries in the fields of trade,science and technology will spread to the financial field.Industry insiders believe that China should be prepared to guard against different levels of financial sanctions by the European Union.Studying the main methods of EU financial sanctions and the counter-sanctions measures of relevant countries have some enlightenment for China to establish a mechanism to deal with financial sanctions.EU sanctions against Russia(or "restrictive measures",a term used in EU law)are several sanctions regimes that include sectoral sanctions,individual sanctions and "Crimean restrictive measures." The question is whether the sanctions imposed by one country against another country or an integrated community against one or more third countries are a measure of national responsibility,or whether they are regarded as a non-standard measure only after the country that violates international law refuses to take responsibility.However,it is hard to say today,that sanctions can be attributed to the non-material responsibility of the state.In this case,they seem to be more regarded as a means of political pressure to realize certain geopolitical benefits.On June 4,2018,Federal Law No.127-FZ "On Measures(Countermeasures)Against Unfriendly Actions of the United States of America and Other Foreign Countries" came into force.Compared with the measures listed in the Federal Law No.281-FZ of December 30,2006,"On Special Economic Measures",the countermeasures in this law can be unlimited in time.The new law provides the president with ample opportunity to respond to the sanctions against Russia,while any countermeasures taken are still at the discretion of the Russian president.Now,the main problem is its application strategy and the formulation of effective countermeasures.The strategy needs to have a real long-term perspective on the problem,and it needs the same longterm perspective to plan counter-sanctions measures.The new law updates Russia’s existing legal and regulatory framework.Before,the legislative basis for Russian sanctions and counter-sanctions was Federal Law No.281-FZ of December 30,2006,which gave the president and the government a lot of benefits.These benefits include the power to restrict aid programs,prohibit financial transactions and foreign economic activities,terminate trade agreements,regulate tariffs,prohibit stopping in Russian ports,and restrict traveling.The framers of the new law pointed out that it has a framework nature.In other words,it gives the president the opportunity to choose certain measures.If it is not linked to a specific action strategy,it is impossible to talk about its ability to successfully counter sanctions.This may be an important step in the implementation of the law.It is the prerogative of the government and the presidential administration to formulate such a strategy.The success of the new legislation largely depends on its priorities and implementation.However,the strategy for dealing with sanctions should start from the overall background of the ongoing process in the world,Russia’s role and status in it,and the understanding of the reasons behind the use of sanctions.If the opposition to sanctions is limited to purely technical measures(quotas,tariffs,barriers,bans),inevitably,it will lead to a passive situation.Strategy is difficult to replace with technology.Although Russia has responded to sanctions,it is not clear how to accurately achieve the goals yet.The work in this area is of a cross-departmental nature and should involve extensive participation of expert groups.In addition,the strategy should be based on the understanding that any sanctions policy will be based on the initiating country’s overwhelming economic,technological,and financial advantages over the target country.This means that in the long term,the best guarantee against any sanctions is to build an efficient and developed economy.As far as the EU is concerned,the damage caused by the restrictions may be more painful.Since 2014,the losses caused by EU companies’ sanctions against Russia are comparable to Russia’s losses.Today,despite sanctions,trade between Russia and the EU is still growing.Saving mutually beneficial relations is as important as protecting the Russian economy.