Irish alumina exports to Russia escape latest EU sanctions, but political pressure is growing

The EU's forthcoming sanctions package won't include Ireland's alumina exports to Russia, but a new letter by members of the European Parliament (MEPs), combined with pressure from Estonia's foreign minister and civil society activists, shows the issue is not going to disappear over the summer.

An Irish media investigation earlier in May revealed that alumina produced at the Russian-owned Aughinish Alumina plant in Ireland was overwhelmingly being exported to Russia, with the material later feeding into Moscow's military-industrial complex and supporting its war effort against Ukraine.

Forty-seven MEPs from extreme-left to right-wing parties have written on June 15 to the EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, who leads on sanctions policy, and Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic, to redirect Ireland's alumina immediately to European industry, and to revisit the problem in the future 22nd sanctions package.

The letter, seen by the Kyiv Independent, claims that "the tools exist. The strategic rationale is beyond question. What is missing is political will," and the MEPs request a response within 30 days.

"Europe has been in this position before — with gas, with semiconductors; with rare earths. Every time we have waited too long. On alumina, we should not make that mistake again," the letter reads.

The work to ban exports of alumina to Russia is not entirely new. EU sanctions can be proposed either by the EU's diplomatic arm, which Kallas heads, or by an EU country.

Estonia's Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna published an opinion article with his country's public broadcaster ERR on June 12 in which he said Tallinn had "repeatedly proposed this measure in earlier sanctions rounds and is doing so again in the current negotiations."

However, restrictions on alumina are not foreseen in the 21st sanctions package, expected to pass in June. Instead, the Irish government has said it is investigating, and that it will hand the results to the European Commission.

"We will ensure that any decisions that need to be taken to put pressure on Russia, they will have the full support of Ireland," the country's Foreign Minister Helen McEntee said at a press conference on June 9.

The news comes at a politically sensitive moment for Ireland. The country is set to take over the EU's rotating Council Presidency on July 1, and its program of priorities makes clear the country sees itself as a clear supporter of Ukraine.

And grassroots pressure to close the sanctions loopholes is set to continue. Representatives of the Alumina22 campaign told the Kyiv Independent that "momentum will not drop away."

"If anything, exclusion from the 21st sanctions package sharpens our focus. We are already shifting to sustained multi-track pressure," said Michelle Ockwell, the initiative's spokesperson.