Defining the logic of sanctions, assessing their impact and comparative utility is especially important for the EU as, in recent years, the Union has increasingly relied on the use of restrictive measures 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 and institutional machinery. This workshop, organised in cooperation with the Permanent Representation of Lithuania to the EU, examined the effectiveness of EU sanctions, particularly in relation to case studies of Belarus, Myanmar/Burma, Iran and Syria.