- Country
- Denmark
- Publication type
- Article
- Thematic area
- Sanctions compliance & due diligence
The EU Sanctions Helpdesk at the Enterprise Europe Network Annual Conference 2025
As geopolitical developments continue to shape global markets, European companies face increasing challenges linked to sanctions compliance. For many SMEs without dedicated legal experts, understanding evolving EU sanctions can be difficult. Trusted business support organisations therefore play a crucial role in guiding them.
Recognising this, the EU Sanctions Helpdesk participated in the 2025 Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) Annual Conference in Aalborg, Denmark, held from 26 to 28 November 2025. The event brought together close to 700 specialists supporting SMEs across Europe and beyond and it served as an important setting for exchanging knowledge and strengthening collaboration.
Ahead of and during the conference, the Helpdesk team engaged with more than 130 stakeholders and held meetings with participants, including EEN members from Greece, Spain, Cyprus, Italy, France, Ireland, Germany, Portugal, Bulgaria, Romania, and Austria. These exchanges revealed strong interest in the Helpdesk’s free services and focused on how EEN members could help connect SMEs in need of compliance guidance to the Helpdesk.
Why business support partners matter
Sanctions compliance is an essential part of doing business responsibly in the EU Single Market and globally. Yet for smaller companies, accessing reliable guidance can be a constraint. Working with intermediaries such as EEN partners, chambers of commerce, innovation agencies, and trade promotion bodies allows the Helpdesk to:
- Reach SMEs through trusted channels they already rely on for advice.
- Provide practical, policy-based guidance tailored to real business needs.
- Support global competitiveness, helping companies avoid risks that could limit their expansion.
The EEN Annual Conference clearly illustrated the value of these partnerships. Informal exchanges, matchmaking activities, and cross-sector discussions highlighted a growing interest among business support organisations in integrating sanctions compliance into internationalisation and risk management services for SMEs.
Synergies: How we can work together
The EU Sanctions Helpdesk collaborates with business support organisations, public authorities, financial institutions, and international compliance stakeholders to make sanctions guidance more accessible for SMEs. By joining forces, we help companies grow responsibly in a global market.
Here are some of the ways we can cooperate:
1. Events & visibility: Bringing compliance to your audiences
- Invite our experts to speak at your conferences, workshops, or member meetings.
- Join our seminars, webinars, or Helpdesk-led events.
- Co-participate in trade fairs or sector events to reach SMEs directly.
2. Joint awareness activities: Informing SMEs together
- Design non-commercial campaigns, newsletters, or guidance tools that promote the Helpdesk’s free services and your organisation’s support work.
- Share updates on sanctions developments that matter for businesses in your network.
3. Co-producing knowledge: Making compliance understandable
- Publish articles, case studies, or interviews together.
- Develop practical content that explains how sanctions affect trade, investment, or sector-specific activities.
4. Training & capacity building: Empowering advisors and their clients
- Benefit from free Helpdesk training tailored to your members’ needs.
- Equip business advisors with the essential knowledge to guide SMEs on sanctions compliance.
The Helpdesk’s participation in Aalborg demonstrated that sanctions compliance is not merely a legal requirement, but it is a pillar of responsible and competitive business. Strengthening cooperation with organisations that support SMEs empowers companies to trade confidently, innovate securely, and expand internationally.
Organisations interested in partnering with the EU Sanctions Helpdesk are invited to contact us via this form.