In recent times, the EU has increasingly relied on the use of sanctions in its external action, a trend which has been reinforced by the introduction of the Lisbon Treaty and the strengthening of the EU foreign policy institutional machinery. This Policy Dialogue, organised with the Permanent Representation of Lithuania to the EU, discussed what could be done to evaluate the effectiveness of EU sanctions and the key conclusions of an EPC Issue Paper on the issue were presented. Speakers included: Linas Linkevičius, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Lithuania; Francesco Giumelli, Assistant Professor at the University of Groningen; HE Per Saland, Sanctions Coordinator at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Sweden; Daniel Fried, Ambassador, Coordinator for Sanctions Policy, U.S. Department of State; and Antoine Madelin, Director for Intergovernmental Organisations, International Federation for Human Rights.