State of the Union: Kinga Redlowska Responds to Finance and Security Signals

Comment by Kinga Redlowska

STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

Europe must turn financial intelligence into action against sanctions evasion and organised crime.

Commission President von der Leyen’s speech contained two important finance and security signals - and one glaring omission.

On Russia, she argued that further pressure does not necessarily require new sanctions, but better enforcement of existing measures and closure of circumvention loopholes, a longstanding weakness in the EU.

She also connected border security with financial disruption, citing the proposed new EU sanctions regime targeting migrant smuggling, human trafficking and other forms of serious organised crime. This framework would allow asset freezes and travel bans against individuals and entities involved in cross-border criminal activity, including arms and drug trafficking and money laundering.

This is a welcome recognition that border security is not solely about physical controls. The networks exploiting vulnerable people depend on payments, laundering, corruption, logistics and professional facilitation. Targeting their finances can raise costs, expose wider networks and support operational disruption.

But designation must not become a substitute for criminal investigation, prosecution, confiscation and asset recovery. The effectiveness of both the Russia sanctions and the new organised crime regime will depend on clear designation thresholds, adequate enforcement resources, intelligence sharing and coordination among sanctions authorities, financial intelligence units, Europol, customs and national investigators.

The speech points towards a more integrated understanding of European security, although the lack of any reference to Iran was striking. Countering the financial networks supporting Iran–Russia military cooperation offers a concrete opportunity for EU–US coordination, with the potential to constrain both countries’ access to funds and critical components.

In short, the test for Europe is whether it can turn financial intelligence into sustained operational impact.

Dr Kinga Redlowska, Head of CFS Europe, Centre for Finance and Security at RUSI

Centre for Finance and Security

Sanctions, State Threats and Economic Security

金加·雷德洛夫斯卡的评论

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欧洲必须将金融情报转化为打击逃避制裁和有组织犯罪的行动。

欧盟委员会主席冯德莱恩的讲话包含了两个重要的金融和安全信号，以及一个明显的遗漏。

关于俄罗斯，她认为进一步施压并不一定需要新的制裁，而是要更好地执行现有措施，并堵住规避漏洞，这是欧盟长期存在的弱点。

她还将边境安全与金融动荡联系起来，并援引了欧盟拟议的新制裁机制，该机制旨在打击偷渡、人口贩运和其他形式的严重有组织犯罪。该框架将允许对参与跨境犯罪活动（包括武器和毒品走私以及洗钱）的个人和实体实施资产冻结和旅行禁令。

这表明，边境安全不仅仅关乎实体管控，这一点值得肯定。利用弱势群体牟利的网络依赖于支付、洗钱、腐败、物流和专业协助。打击他们的资金来源可以提高成本，暴露更广泛的网络，并有助于扰乱其运作。

但制裁绝不能取代刑事调查、起诉、没收和资产追回。俄罗斯制裁和新的有组织犯罪制度的有效性，取决于明确的制裁门槛、充足的执法资源，以及制裁机构、金融情报机构、欧洲刑警组织、海关和各国调查人员之间的情报共享与协调。

此次演讲旨在促进对欧洲安全的更全面理解，但值得注意的是，演讲中完全没有提及伊朗。打击支持伊朗-俄罗斯军事合作的金融网络，为欧盟和美国开展协调合作提供了一个切实的机会，有可能限制两国获取资金和关键部件。

简而言之，对欧洲的考验在于它能否将金融情报转化为持续的运营影响。

金加·雷德洛夫斯卡博士，皇家联合军种研究所金融与安全中心欧洲区负责人

金融与安全中心

制裁、国家威胁与经济安全