Overview
- The Council of the European Union adopted the new measures on Monday, prohibiting the purchase, import and transport of gold originating in Sudan and extending the bloc’s Sudan sanctions to October 2026.
- The package also bars the sale, supply, transfer or export of mercury and cyanide to Sudan and bans related services such as technical assistance, brokering and financial support for gold mining.
- The measures include narrow humanitarian exemptions for chemicals used in public-health emergencies and disaster response, while allowing relief operations to continue.
- Observers warn the package may have limited impact unless transit hubs and refiners tighten controls, because UN experts and analysts estimate more than half of Sudan’s gold is smuggled through neighbouring states and into Dubai.
- The sanctions build on an EU regime first set up in October 2023 and aim to pressure the warring Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces by targeting the war economy, but critics note the decision stops short of sanctioning UAE-linked traders that handle much of the trade.