The EU released Oct. 20 its annual report on the implementation of the bloc's strategy targeting weapons of mass destruction proliferation. The report breaks down the state of issues regarding nuclear, chemical and biological issues, along with the current export control and sanctions regimes geared towards addressing these problems.

The EU established a sanctions framework pertaining to the situation in Niger, allowing the bloc to sanction the parties that "undermine the stability, democracy, rule of law in Niger, and constitute a threat to peace and security in the region." The European Council announced Oct. 23 that the sanctions framework will aid the Economic Community of West African States' (ECOWAS) efforts to secure a return to "constitutional order in Niger" after a military coup in the country earlier this year. Sanctions under the regime will include a humanitarian exemption.

The U.N. Security Council and the U.K. recently amended the sanctions entry for one of Haiti’s “most influential gang leaders.” The move revised identifying information for Jimmy Cherizier, a former police officer who has committed “serious human rights abuses,” the Security Council said.

The European Council adopted the "Anti-Coercion Instrument" Oct. 23 -- a trade tool meant to disincentivize the use of coercive trade and investment measures "through dialogue." Should the dialogue fall through, the instrument allows for the EU to impose countermeasures, including trade restrictions, via "increased customs duties, import or export licences, restrictions on trade in services or access to foreign direct investment or public procurement."

A group of European countries not in the EU aligned with a recent sanctions decisions from the EU regarding the situation in Ukraine, the European Council announced. On Sept. 28, the council made it illegal to broadcast any content made by parties subject to the sanctions on Russia. The countries of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland and Liechtenstein also imposed the decision, the council said.

The U.K.'s Export Control Joint Unit last week amended various parts of its export control regulations, including one update involving a Syria reference and another corrected two drafting errors "in which words already contained in the retained Dual-Use Regulation were inserted a second time." The country said these changes "do not have an impact on the operation of the retained Dual-use Regulation and have been corrected for the sake of good order.

The EU General Court on Oct. 18 rejected two sanctions delisting applications from Belarusian automakers Minsk Automobile Plant and BelAZ. In separate applications, the companies said the European Council failed to notify them of the sanctions, failed in the wording of the companies' names in the sanctions listings and failed in assessing the facts surrounding their designations.

After a meeting between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and President Joe Biden, the two sides publicly acknowledged they wouldn't meet their Oct. 31 deadline to complete a Global Arrangement on Sustainable Steel and Aluminum, which is meant to keep out non-market overcapacity from the two markets, as well as privilege trade in green metals between them.

The U.K. updated its general sanctions license allowing sanctioned parties to make "permitted payments" to Companies House, the country's executive agency that registers and publicizes company information and incorporates and dissolves limited companies. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation updated the license to clarify that "permitted payments" means payment of fees "owed by or due from" sanctioned parties to the agency for filing a confirmation statement in respect of incorporated U.K. entities and also the payment of late filing penalty fees as a result of annual account late filings by the sanctioned parties.

The U.K. removed three people and three entities from its Iran nuclear weapons sanctions regime, in an Oct. 19 notice. The individuals are Mohsen Fakhrizadeh-Mahabadi, former head of Iran's Physics Research Centre; Mohammad Hejazi, commander of the Bassij resistance force; and Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Qods force who was killed in a U.S. air strike. The entities are Barzagani Tejarat Tavanmad Saccal Companies, Doostan International Co. and Pejman Industrial Services Corp.