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The interactive map to discover European sanctions

(B2) What is the easiest way to get an overview of the sanctions adopted by the European Union? Quite simply on the internet: a interactive map listing the targets and types of sanctions imposed by the European Union. A visual and fun way to get an idea of ​​the reasons and extent of the restrictions in force. This card, B2 tested it for you... Our debrief...

This website set up by the Estonian Presidency of the EU was handed over to the European Commission at the end of the Presidency, with the Commission continuing to maintain and update it. « The map is our digital gift to the EU ».

The restrictive measure, a major tool of European policy

A useful tool. Restrictive measures and sanctions have become, over time, an essential instrument of European foreign policy, allowing the Union to pin down state or non-state actors, to prevent the export to certain areas of equipment potentially dangerous, or even to press for a change of attitude with an economic embargo attempting to strike at the heart of its economic resources in the incriminated State (oil, gas, minerals, etc.). They are adopted by the Council unanimously and must be renewed regularly (generally every year or every six months as the case may be).

Tour of the site

On the main page of the Grand Site website, a gray planisphere from which certain countries stand out in blue. By clicking on one of these highlighted countries, pictograms indicate the different categories of sanctions affecting the country. By enlarging the window, a more complete description draws up the origin and the history of the sanctions which affect the country.

By expanding the options bar in the upper right corner, it is possible to retarget the search according to certain criteria, namely the institution behind the sanctions (Council of the European Union or United Nations Security Council), the type(s) of restrictive measures adopted (arms embargo, controls, freezing of assets, visa restrictions, etc.) and the topic of sanctions (terrorism).

What we liked

  1. The simplicity of the site. The page is very clean and loads quickly. Options are user-friendly, easily identifiable and dispense with unnecessary text.
  2. Its accuracy. The site is updated maximum 24 hours after the publication of decisions concerning sanctions in the Official Journal. These updates are notably notified via Twitter (@EUSanctionsMaps).
  3. The page is directly accessible from the sanctions page on the Council's website.
  4. Its added value. Without going so far as to say that the map meets a real need, it has the merit of concentrating information – which used to be dispersed – into a very explicit image.

What we didn't like

  1. English as the only language.
  2. A lack of themes. Terrorism is the only selectable theme in the options. However, there are a number of other reasons why the Union adopts sanctions against a State: an act of aggression (Russia), the development of a nuclear program (Iran, North Korea), the violation of human rights (Venezuela, Burma), a deleterious situation (Libya, Somalia), even internal conflicts (Democratic Republic of Congo).
  3. Its non-retroactivity. The map only shows countries that are affected by sanctions as of today. Sanctions adopted and then lifted in the past are not shown. This option would be of real interest since it would reveal other types of sanctions depending on their status (abandoned, resumed, lifted in the event of success).

On the balance sheet

A fun and interesting novelty that brightens up a somewhat off-putting subject. However, the EU Sanctions Map is above all a gadget that merely presents a state of affairs. To transform it into an analytical tool, it would be necessary to be able to compare in a single map the series of countries targeted by sanctions with other categories of criteria (degree of democracy, internal conflicts, wars, integration into the international legal system, map of operations of peacekeeping et peace building, etc.).

(François De Ganck, with NGV)

Consult it here

EU Sanctions Map website interface

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