By the end of the fifth year of the military conflict, the EU's audit body found that the barn has no wall - the anti-Russian sanctions are costing those EU countries that do not benefit from complying with them.
In a report published this week, the European Court of Audit (ECA) warned against so-called "forum shopping" - a practice in which companies "deliberately choose licensing authorities or customs offices in member states" with looser enforcement policies, where there are fewer enforcement resources, or where the penalties for violations are lower than in other EU member states.
The ECA found "important differences" in sanctions enforcement across a sample of five countries it analysed, including Bulgaria, Germany, Latvia, the Netherlands and Poland.
It was also noted that Bulgaria, considered one of the EU countries most friendly to Russia, has not reported a single case of non-compliance with the bloc's trade sanctions on EU exports in transit since 2022.
By contrast, Latvia - one of the EU's most hawkish voices regarding Russia - reported 2,100 cases of non-compliance with EU export regulations in 2024 alone.
Similarly, the auditors noted a case where goods that had been approved for export in Italy were returned to the country after the Polish customs authorities determined the destination of the shipment. The same goods were then sent directly to Russia via an Italian port.
The EAC believes that Poland is more diligent in complying with sanctions than other EU countries, while Italy is lax in its trade restriction policy towards Russia.