This is the historical background on the EU sanctions against Egypt:
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and several ministers were forced to resign as a result of widespread popular protests in February 2011. The Egyptian authorities have initiated legal action against several of these individuals and those close to them on suspicion of embezzling Egyptian public property. In light of this, the EU decided on 21 March 2011 to introduce targeted sanctions, in the form of freezing of assets, against individual members of the former government and those close to them who are subject to legal measures by the Egyptian authorities. The sanctions were subsequently extended and now apply until 22 March 2014, but are subject to continuous review.
and the description of the current sanctions:
All funds belonging to persons responsible for embezzlement of Egyptian public assets, and natural or legal persons, entities or bodies that are associated with them and that are placed on the EU's sanctions list are to be frozen. Furthermore, no funds or financial resources are to be made available to these persons. In certain cases, however, exemptions can be granted, e.g. on humanitarian grounds. Frozen assets may also be released in certain cases for the enforcement of judgments etc., in order to facilitate their return to the Egyptian state.
The persons who have had their assets frozen are listed in the annex of Council Regulation (EU) No 270/2011; see the section entitled “Relevant EU documents”.
and the relevant EU decisions:
The sanctions are regulated by Council Decision 2011/172/CFSP of 21 March 2011. The decision has been supplemented by Council Decision 2012/723/CFSP, which contains certain further exemptions from the provisions on freezing, etc. In March 2013, Council Decision 2011/172/CFSP was extended until 22 March 2014 through Council Decision 2013/144/CFSP. The council decisions are implemented in EU law through Council Regulation (EU) Nos 270/2011 and 1099/2012.
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