Am 23. April 2026 veröffentlichte die Europäische Union ihr 20. Sanktionspaket gegen Russland und Belarus. Das Maßnahmenbündel verschärft und erweitert die bisherigen Sanktionen noch einmal erheblich und markiert zugleich eine neue Eskalationsstufe in der Durchsetzung und Absicherung der EU‑Sanktionsarchitektur. Besonders hervorzu-heben sind die erstmalige Aktivierung des Antiumgehungsinstruments, umfangreiche Erweiterungen im Finanz‑ und Energiesektor sowie tiefgreifende neue Schutz- und Rechtsdurchsetzungsmechanismen zugunsten von EU‑Wirtschaftsbeteiligten. Die Maßnahmen betreffen – wie bereits in den vorangegangenen Paketen – sowohl Russland als auch Belarus. Das zwanzigste Sanktionspaket ist besonders auf die Verhinderung der Sanktionsumgehung ausgerichtet. Dabei werden zunehmend auch Akteure aus Drittländern, wie China, den Vereinigten Arabischen Emiraten oder aus Zentralasien in den Blick genommen.

Die Anforderungen an die Ausfuhr oder Verbringung von Rüstungsgütern und Kriegswaffen sind streng und das Gewirr von Einzel-, Sammel- sowie allgemeinen Genehmigungen erscheint in der Praxis oft komplex und undurchsichtig. Mit zwei „neuen“ All-gemeinen Genehmigungen (AGG) gewinnt dieses Gefüge nun weiter an Dynamik.

 BLOMSTEIN is opening an office in Düsseldorf, effective April 15, 2026. As part of the initial launch, Christopher Wolters(Partner) and  Tobias Ackermann(Senior Associate) will start on the ground. Further team expansions and formal office opening are planned for later this year.

BLOMSTEIN is delighted to welcome two highly experienced senior lawyers: Juliana Wimmer and Uğur Can Hekim will further enhance our international trade and regulatory practice and our advisory strength in complex international regulatory matters.

The EU is facing increasing pressure from global instability and a weakening rules-based order. The “Industrial Accelerator Act” (IAA), for which the Commission recently unveiled its proposal (the Proposal),  is designed to help navigate these challenges. The Proposal sets the target of raising the share of the manufacturing industry in the EU’s gross domestic product to at least 20 % by 2035. This aim shall be achieved mainly by two mechanisms: a framework for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) screening in certain sensitive sectors and “Buy European” requirements for public procurement procedures and subsidies on the other hand. While this briefing focuses on the FDI aspects of the Proposal, its “Buy European” elements are discussed separately.

BLOMSTEIN advised Dragsbæk A/S, a subsidiary of Orkla Food Ingredients and a Danish producer of hybrid dairy products and specialty fats, on merger control and foreign direct investment aspects in connection with its acquisition of Vortella Lebensmittelwerk W. Vortmeyer GmbH.

2026 marks the year of implementation and strategic recalibration for many of the regulatory projects initiated under the previous Commission. Key regulations shift from concept to enforcement and transition to practical compliance obligations for the consumer goods and retail industry: Under the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, sustainability and transparency requirements will become binding, and the Empowering Consumers Directive imposes stricter standards on packaging design and environmental claims.

Navigating expanding regulatory frontiers

The deal-making landscape is changing fast and not in ways that make life easier for businesses and their advisors. In merger control, regulators are actively exploring ways to move beyond the traditional revenue thresholds that have long defined their jurisdiction. Across Europe, the concept of call-in regimes and post-closing reviews is gaining traction. This means that even transactions involving targets without significant market presence could, in future, be drawn into review where strategic concerns arise.

In January of this year, the European Commission implemented economic measures after an anti-dumping investigation against fused alumina imported from China through the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/114. This specific anti-dumping procedure includes for the first-time considerations regarding economic security in the anti-dumping investigation and ended up combining anti-dumping duties with tariff rate quotas to balance the diverging interests of producers and users of fused alumina.

On 3 December 2025, the European Commission adopted the RESourceEU Action Plan (COM(2025) 945), a policy package intended accelerate the EU’s Critical Raw Materials (CRM) strategy under the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), in response to growing geopolitical and market risks. The Action Plan marks a shift from medium-term framework objectives to the rapid delivery of operational measures, with particular focus on rare earth permanent magnets, battery raw materials and defence-related raw materials.

Several of the measures announced fall squarely within BLOMSTEIN’s areas of expertise, particularly those addressing economic security, supply chain resilience and the use of trade and funding instruments to counter non-market practices.