Council Regulation (EU) 2023/720 of 31 March 2023 amending certain Council Regulations concerning restrictive measures in order to insert provisions on a humanitarian exemption

New Council Regulation (EU) 2023/720 as regards the insertion of provisions to permit the release of frozen funds and other financial activities for specified purposes was published in the Official Journal (OJ) of the EU. Specifically, the 2023 regulation modifies several other Council regulations (please see the list above) specifying asset freezing and other restrictive measures to permit the release of frozen funds or the making available of funds to the following entities for humanitarian purposes:
– the United Nations (UN) or any of its related organizations and
– nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) or international organizations supporting the work of the UN.
A corresponding list of organizations is provided in the provisions.
Additionally, funds may also be made available (including the release of frozen funds) to other persons and entities, so long they are used for humanitarian purposes, the satisfaction of basic human needs, the supply of fresh water or food, and several other purposes.
The regulation follows the recent adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2664 which stipulates possible exemptions from sanction measures for certain humanitarian activities and business purposes.