Support Service

A: Primarily European SMEs, defined by EU recommendation 2003/361. This includes companies with: 

• Fewer than 250 employees
• Up to €50 million turnover
• Total balance sheet assets of up to €43 million 

A: EU SMEs are the primary target group of the Helpdesk services. However, where feasible, it could potentially also benefit non-profit organisations and businesses that exceed the size of regular SMEs. Exceptionally and only those requests that merit further consideration by the Helpdesk will therefore be reviewed on a case-by-case basis when they are outside of the SME scope.

If you have any doubts, you are welcome to contact the EU Sanctions Helpdesk via the portal of the Support Service.  

A: All of the Helpdesk’s services are provided free of charge.

A: All requests will be acknowledged within 2 working days. For straightforward requests, we aim to respond within 5 working days. For more complex requests, including those involving extensive sanctions programmes such as Russia, Belarus, and Iran, we aim to respond within 10 working days. 

A: The Helpdesk covers all UN and autonomous EU restrictive measures applicable across the EU. We screen against UN, EU, and the national sanctions lists of EU Member States, where applicable. The Helpdesk will not address sanctions risks arising under third countries’ sanctions programmes.

A: The Helpdesk sanctions Support Service is available to all SMEs established in the EU, including EU-based branches and subsidiaries of third-country businesses.

SMEs in EEA, EFTA, and Candidate Countries may also find the service relevant. However, support availability depends on whether their national sanctions regimes are aligned with EU sanctions. Before contacting the Helpdesk, businesses in these countries should consult their national sanctions authority to confirm alignment and seek initial guidance on their enquiry.

In addition, the resources available on the Helpdesk website are broadly relevant to any organisation seeking to understand and comply with EU sanctions.

A: No. While the Helpdesk is an EU-funded initiative and makes every effort to ensure accuracy, the European Commission does not take responsibility or accept liability for any activity undertaken by the Helpdesk. EU operators must make the final decision about pursuing business opportunities and accepting associated risks. The Helpdesk’s role is to help locate certain information and to advise SMEs of potential risks.

A: The Helpdesk website provides access to a range of European Commission information resources, supplemented by information prepared by the EU Sanctions Helpdesk itself. This information is constantly under review. In addition, the Compliance Support Service is available free of charge to eligible SMEs who have specific questions about how EU sanctions affect their business.

A: You can ask the Helpdesk for sanctions due diligence support on a potential business transaction or submit more general questions about sanctions compliance in relation to your business operations.

A: Depending on the exact scope of the request, it can include assessments of: 

• Your counterparty or any party in the transaction to identify if they are sanctioned directly or owned or controlled by a Designated Person (Who)
• The goods or services being transacted and whether they are subject to EU restrictive measures (What)
• The Locations and jurisdictions where goods, services or related payments will be transiting to determine whether any restrictive measures are potentially being breached (Where)
• End-use and end-user to ensure compliance with restrictive measures (Why) 

A: The working language of the Helpdesk is English, but we wish to be as accessible as possible. You are welcome to submit questions in your local language, but responses will be in English.

A: We have strict confidentiality protocols, and no reports are shared externally. For training purposes and to share best practices, some reports may be anonymised and aggregated in such a way that the original transaction, all parties involved, and the countries concerned are fully masked.  

There may be circumstances under the law where we are required to disclose reports—for example, if ordered by a court of law or under national legislation. Similarly, if the Helpdesk becomes aware of criminal activity, there may be occasions where there is a legal or ethical obligation to report the matter to the relevant authorities. 

A: Yes. You are welcome to submit multiple requests to the Helpdesk, but preferably one at a time. It is possible that the Helpdesk’s response to one request may already help you with certain other questions as well, it is therefore better to finalise an existing request before submitting another.

A: The guidance provided is meant to help SMEs make and document their own final risk assessment. The Helpdesk does not provide any guarantees regarding the absence of risks of violating sanctions, nor will it assume any liability in this regard. 

Guidance provided solely pertains to EU Sanctions. In particular, it does not address the impact of any sanctions imposed by any third country.  

Best efforts are used in developing and designing reports, with attention to the accuracy of the information provided therein. The Helpdesk uses its best efforts to ensure that the information provided is complete. However, no reliance or responsibility may be placed for any purposes whatsoever on the information contained therein or on its accuracy or completeness. 

A: Depending on the exact scope of the request, this could include information about: 

• Your counterparty or any other parties in the transaction (Who)
• The goods or services being transacted (What)
• The Locations and jurisdictions where goods, services or related payments will be transiting (Where)
• End-use and end-user (Why) 

A: Sanctions due diligence is the process of identifying, preventing, and managing potential sanctions risks in your business. As part of a sanctions compliance programme, sanctions due diligence helps a business assess and reduce its potential sanctions risk exposure. As a result, the business is better informed about whether a proposed transaction or activity is prohibited under EU law. For more information please see our publication ‘Sanctions due diligence: Where to begin’.

A: In the context of sanctions or restrictive measures, red flags are indicators that a transaction or business relationship might be the result of an attempt to circumvent the legal sanctions or restrictive measures imposed. A red flag on its own is not always indicative of sanctions circumvention or that a particular transaction is illegal, but it is an indicator that an operator should undertake deeper due diligence. For more information please see our publication ‘Red flags: Mastering the indicators of sanctions risk’.

A: As well as signposting existing resources prepared by the European Commission, the Helpdesk has prepared a series of publications including Red flags: Mastering the indicators of sanctions risk, Sanctions due diligence: Where to begin and Six tips for creating your organisation’s own Sanctions Compliance Programme.

A: Yes. You can always communicate directly with the Helpdesk via the portal of the Support Service.

A: Your feedback is very welcome. The Helpdesk will share feedback forms with SMEs that have used the Helpdesk Support service. In addition, you can always raise any issues or concerns by using the portal of the Support Service and sending a direct message to the Helpdesk Team.