The heart of the Helpdesk is the support service, which offers personalised help to companies performing sanctions due diligence checks. The Helpdesk team also manages this website, creating and hosting sanctions-related information, event news, tips, lessons learned, and more.
All UN and autonomous EU restrictive measures (sanctions) are covered by the Helpdesk.
Created in 2025, the Helpdesk is implemented on behalf of the European Commission by an external service provider, as part of the project "Support to EU SMEs on EU Sanctions Due Diligence" (NDICI FPN FPI 2023 / 449-650), which is funded by the Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI) and managed under the auspices of the Directorate General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union (DG FISMA).
What can you find on the EU Sanctions Helpdesk?
The Compliance Support Service
The most important feature that we offer is the personalised Support Service. It provides direct, one-to-one exchanges with our expert team to support you in carrying out sanctions due diligence checks. See how it works.
Publications
Sanctions can be confusing. That's why the Sanctions Helpdesk team creates and curates guides, success stories, good practices, news, podcasts, and other knowledge pieces that help you understand the EU Sanctions landscape.
Resources
We manage a comprehensive list of the most important EU and third-party resources that you need in order to carry out sanctions due diligence.
Events
The EU Sanctions Helpdesk regularly hosts and participates in events, including trainings, conferences, seminars, and more.
How can you partner with the EU Sanctions Helpdesk?
We welcome collaboration with various stakeholders, including public authorities, business support stakeholders, financial institutions, and international sanctions and compliance organisations. We offer and seek the following partnership opportunities:
Events
- Invite us to your events, including meetings and conferences, where we can join a panel or make a presentation.
- Join one of our upcoming events, such as information sessions, seminars, and workshops.
- Participate in industry events, including trade fairs that you (co-) organise or attend.
Cross-promotion
- Develop joint activities that will promote the EU Sanctions Helpdesk to your members, or partners, as well as raise awareness of your activities among the users of the Helpdesk. Please note that we are unable to promote third-party commercial products or services.
Content production
- Organise interviews with stakeholders to produce articles, videos or podcasts that aim to increase understanding of EU sanctions compliance.
Training
- Benefit from our training sessions, which share information that can be provided to your members.
To discuss partnership opportunities, please contact us or email us at outreach
eu-sanctions-helpdesk [dot] eu (subject: Partnerships) (outreach[at]eu-sanctions-helpdesk[dot]eu)!
The Team
The EU Sanctions Helpdesk is supported by a Coordination Team working for the European Commission's Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union (DG FISMA) and the Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI), taking strategic decisions, and a Helpdesk Team of experts. The Helpdesk Team is responsible for the good functioning of the website, supporting users, and producing content.
The Coordination Team
- FISMA.E.5. - Sanctions Unit
The EU Sanctions Helpdesk Key Expert Team
- Ian Matthews, Team Leader & Senior Expert on EU Restrictive Measures
- Frederik van Essen, Senior Expert on Legal and Compliance
- Dimitrios Chaidas, Senior Expert on Communication