The European Commission on Friday proposed to criminalize the violation of the sanctions by the European Union (EU), reports DW.

Accordingly, the respective violators will face up to five years in prison.

The list of respective violations compiled by the European Commission includes such actions as the trade of sanctioned goods and services, as well as transactions with third countries in order to circumvent sanctions.

Moreover, the frozen assets of the persons under these sanctions can be seized only in case of criminal prosecution.

The introduction of a single approach at the EU level will enable the authorities of each EU country to more effectively investigate, prosecute, and punish sanctions’ violations, the European Union authorities emphasize.