A group of European countries not in the EU aligned with two sanctions moves from the EU on Iran and one under the bloc's regime against the proliferation and use of chemical weapons, the European Council announced Oct. 26.

The U.K. and Oklahoma held the first working group meeting under the U.K.-Oklahoma trade relations Memorandum of Understanding in Oklahoma City. The Oct. 24 meeting focused on "identifying new opportunities for increasing bilateral trade in clean energy technologies, zero-emissions vehicles, agriculture, and public sector procurement," the U.K.'s Department for International Trade said. The participants also identified areas for future work, including carbon sequestration, electric vehicle infrastructure, agriculture and government procurement.

The U.K. amended two listings under its Russia sanctions regime, the Office of Foreign Sanctions Implementation announced. The entries for Veniamin Ivanovich Kondratyev, regional governor of Krasnodar territory, and Nikolai Fyodorovna Kondratyuk, member of the Federation Council of Russia, were updated to change the date of birth for Veniamin and to add an alias for Kondratyuk.

The U.N. Security Council and the U.K. sanctioned two people for their ties to military groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The designations target Bernard Maheshe Byamungu, brigadier general for the Congolese militia group M23, and Protogene Ruvugayimikore, commander of a special unit for the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda.

The European Parliament's Environment Committee this week passed a sustainable pesticides regulation that could set new limits on imported agricultural goods and food products, along with other pesticide-related bans. The measures, approved 47-37, with 2 abstentions, would require the European Commission to “examine the differences in the use of pesticides” on imported agricultural and agri-food products by 2025 and potentially propose measures to “ensure imports meet EU-equivalent standards,” the European Parliament said in a news release. It also would prohibit exports of pesticides not approved in the EU.

The European Council on Oct. 24 amended the sanctions listing for Irina Anatolievna Kostenko under its Russia sanctions regime. The council updated Kostenko's date of birth from April 4, 1974, to May 8, 1967.

The EU General Court on Oct. 25 annulled the listing of the ex-wife of Alfa Group founder Mikhail Fridman, referred to only as "QF" in the opinion, according to an unofficial translation. Originally sanctioned in April 2022, QF was delisted five months later. The court annulled her original listing. QF claimed the European Council based its decision on evidence lacking probative value and erroneously assessed the facts.

The U.K. on Oct. 25 issued a new license under its Russia and Belarus sanctions regimes related to certain legal services payments, replacing the current license that was scheduled to expire Oct. 28 (see 2305010012), according to the EU Sanctions blog. Under the new license, the cap for services based on a prior obligation and services not based on a prior obligation may not exceed 10% of the "amount payable for the professional legal fees and Counsel's fees," or around $60,700, whichever is lower.

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.

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.