After Canada, it is time for the EU’s Magnitsky Act

Yesterday, a group of Members of European Parliament (MEPs) led by Guy Verhofstadt, the former Prime Minister of Belgium and head of the center-right Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) in the European Parliament (EP), called on the Estonian Presidency of the European Council to push for the adoption of the EU’s own Magnitsky Act. The letter was signed by MEPs across the political spectrum, from the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, to the Greens, ALDE and the European People’s Party, and the Tory-dominated European Conservatives and Reformists.

Because of the EU’s legislative procedures, the MEPs cannot propose the law themselves — the European Commission (EC) normally holds a monopoly on drafting of new legislation. At most, the EP can adopt non-binding resolutions urging other European institutions to act. There have beenseveral of those since the adoption of the Magnitsky Act in the United States in 2012, which imposes asset freezes and travel bans on individuals complicit in human rights violations and/or substantial corruption.

It is unfortunate that at a time of pressing international challenges, the EU’s previous and current foreign ministers, (“High Representatives for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy”) Lady Ashton and Federica Mogherini, have been ineffective in addressing the looming Russian threat to Europe. That is not a completely surprise in Lady Ashton’s case — in the 1980s, she worked as treasurer and vice-chair of the Soviet-sponsored Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. More worryingly, since her arrival in office, Ms. Mogherini has been looking for ways to soften the EU’s sanctions regime against Russia (related to its war against Ukraine) and to weaken the EU’s own initiatives to combat Russian disinformation.

Waiting for the EC to get its act together is thus a fool’s errand — the leadership has to come from the EU’s member states. Leaning on the Estonian presidency of the Council is a good opportunity, as Estonia adopted its own Magnitsky Act last year (the vote was unanimous), and Lithuania is now following in its footsteps. The Canadian legislation, which came into force in October, as well as the British one, adopted in April this year, show a certain momentum that ought to be seized.

To be sure, details matter. The Baltic versions impose visa bans, but not asset freezes. Because of its size and geographic proximity, the EU is an important safe haven for those who are seeking to move their assets out of Russia into countries where the rule of law and property rights prevail. By following the US and Canadian examples in particular, the EU would dramatically restrict the menu of options available to Russian kleptocrats and hit the regime where it hurts the most.

The Magnitsky Act would be a clear publicity win for the EU as well, demonstrating that the bloc can throw its geopolitical weight around, defying the frequent predictions of its imminent collapse and its lackluster leadership. And, as John McCain put it, this would be a “pro-Russia law.” Its adoption by the EU would send a clear signal that Europe’s democracies are standing on the side of ordinary Russians who are being robbed by their own government and its cronies.

Dalibor Rohac is a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he studies European political and economic trends. Specifically, he is working on Central and Eastern Europe, the European Union (EU) and the eurozone, US-EU relations, and the post-Communist transitions and backsliding of countries in the former Soviet bloc. He is concurrently a visiting junior fellow at the Max Beloff Centre for the Study of Liberty at the University of Buckingham in the UK and a fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs in London.