European Commissions responsible for issues relating to sanctions had a series of meetings with Cypriot officials in Nicosia, according to an announcement by the European Commission Representation in Nicosia.

Over the last two days, a delegation of Commission officials responsible for sanctions met with Cypriot officials responsible for sanctions implementation and enforcement, including teams from the Ministries of Finance, Foreign Affairs, Maritime, as well as the Central Bank of Cyprus, the police, customs authorities, and others, according to the statement.

The purpose of the meeting was to focus on sanctions implementation, to exchange views on challenges that arise, to share best practices, and know-how, the statement adds.

During presentations, both sides stressed the importance of sanctions in helping Ukraine defend itself from illegal Russian aggression. The Cypriot and Commission officials shared their full commitment to EU sanctions, and to make sanctions implementation and enforcement more effective.

The Cypriot authorities also presented the work performed to implement sanctions against Russia, and both sides agreed to continue the dialogue and follow-up on matters of sanctions implementation in the spirit of sincere cooperation.

The press release points out that Commission sanctions officials have been meeting with the sanctions teams of each EU Member State. This is one in a series of bilateral meetings between Commission sanctions officials and Member State sanctions officials announced by Commissioner Mairead McGuinness at the first meeting of the High-Level Expert Group on restrictive measures on 24thOctober 2022.