European Commission to present a plan for protecting EU companies from third-country sanctions

The European Commission (EC) intends to further improve the mechanisms for protecting European companies from sanctions from third countries, such as the United States. On January 19, the day before President-elect Joseph Biden's inauguration, the EC plans to present an action plan in this regard, Report states, citing the newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung.

According to the draft document, the proposals aim to strengthen the euro and reduce the EU's vulnerability to possible sanctions. In the paper, the EC notes the negative consequences of the restrictions imposed by Donald Trump's administration against Iran.

"Unilateral actions by third countries have harmed trade and investment," the European Commission said.

The EC wants to expand the so-called "Blocking Statute" designed to protect European firms from sanctions that the EU has not joined. In the future, Brussels plans to take into account the possible vulnerability of companies to sanctions when acquiring European firms by "third" players. That is, from now on, if a non-European concern wants to buy an essential firm from a particular EU country, the European Commission or the national regulator will consider whether, in this case, the acquired company will not be more subject to unilateral restrictions.