Recent weeks have seen an expansion of EU sanctions in relation to Iran, Syria and Belarus. In addition, the UK continues to extend the scope of EU sanction provisions to its overseas territories.

The scope of EU sanctions continues to widen. New measures which extend EU sanctions against Iran were adopted on 23 March 2012. The UK has extended part of these measures to its overseas territories. In addition, the list of individuals and entities subject to both the Syrian and Belarusian asset-freezing measures has been extended.