Thursday

21st Sep 2023

EU makes first use of Magnitsky Act - on Russia

  • EU foreign ministers speaking to US secretary of state Anthony Blinken by video-link on Monday (Photo: consilium.europa.eu)

The EU has agreed to blacklist Russian officials guilty of wrongly jailing opposition figure Alexei Navalny, amid a new "low" in relations.

The asset-freezes and visa-bans ought to be in force in early March, EU foreign relations chief Josep Borrell said after meeting foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday (22 February).

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

And a draft EU list already named four men - Alexander Bastrykin, Alexander Kalashnikov, Igor Krasnov, and Viktor Zolotov - who run Russia's investigative, prison, prosecution, and national guard services, according to information leaked to the Reuters news agency.

The measures will be the EU's first-ever invocation of its new 'Magnitsky Act' human rights sanctions, named informally after a late Russian dissident.

Navalny's associates wanted the EU to also list Russian oligarchs, whose corruption he exposed and who benefitted from his being silenced.

The Magnitsky Act allows for that, legally speaking.

But Borrell said Europe did not have enough evidence to pin Navalny's "persecution" on any one else for now.

"Maybe we don't like the oligarchs ... but if there isn't a link we can prove in a court of law, we cannot use it [the Magnitsky Act]. I'm sorry, this is also the rule of law", Borrell said.

The new EU sanctions come on top of previous measures over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, chemical-weapons attacks, and cyber attacks.

They also come after Russia humiliated Borrell on his recent trip to Moscow by trash-talking the EU and expelling European diplomats while he was there.

Its behaviour was a "clear symbol [Russia] is not interested in cooperation with the EU, on the contrary, it looks to disengagement and confrontation", Borrell said.

Russia had, "unfortunately", become the EU's "adversary", he added.

Borrell was roasted by European media and politicians for letting himself be made a fool of in Moscow.

But he said that had blown over by now.

It was just 70 or so MEPs out of 750 who had signed a letter calling for his resignation, Borrell said on Monday. "It's less than 10 percent, so let's put things in the right proportion," he said.

The German and Swedish foreign ministers echoed the EU top diplomat.

"Relations [with Russia] are certainly at a low. There's no other word for it," Germany's Heiko Maas said.

"At the same time, we need to talk about how to keep up a constructive dialogue with Russia," he added.

"The EU message to Russia is clear," Sweden's Ann Linde said.

Ministers were "united in support of the EU's Russia policy. Navalny and all others unlawfully detained must be released," she said.

The new US secretary of state, Anthony Blinken, joined the EU talks by video-link on Monday.

And he "welcomed the EU's decision to impose sanctions against Russia under the human rights sanctions regime [Magnitsky Act]", the state department said.

There is more division in the West on Russia than Monday's sanctions deal suggested, however.

The US has used sanctions against European firms building a Russia-Germany gas pipeline, called Nord Stream 2, which it says will cause strategic harm.

And the Polish foreign minister, on Monday, published an op-ed in the Politico news agency urging Blinken to get tougher if Germany went ahead.

Poland was also interested in EU sanctions on Russian oligarchs despite Borrell's legal niceties, diplomatic sources said.

But even the Russia-hawkish Baltic EU states were happy with Monday's compromise as a first step.

And Leonid Volkov, a close associate of Navalny's who lives in Lithuania, also saw some good in it.

"Even if it's too little ... it's the first time personal sanctions are applied with regard to human rights violations, so it opens a way for further negotiation on this with Europe," he said.

EU Commission casts doubt on Russian Sputnik vaccine

Hungary is buying up vaccines from Russia and China. But tricky regulatory oversight questions remain as the European Commission sheds doubt on the quality and safety of Sputnik production.

Who are the EU's new Russian deplorables?

Four Russians are about to join an EU list of the world's worst human rights abusers, but who are they and what message does it send to Moscow?

EU’s €500m gender violence plan falls short, say auditors

The 'Spotlight Initiative' was launched in 2017 with a budget of €500 million to end all forms of violence or harmful practices against women and girls in partner countries, but so far it has had "little impact", say EU auditors.

Latest News

  1. Europe must Trump-proof its Ukraine arms supplies
  2. Antifascism and fascism are opposites, whatever elites say
  3. MEPs back Germany's Buch to lead ECB supervisory arm
  4. Russia to blame for Azerbaijan attack, EU says
  5. Fresh dispute may delay EU-wide migration reforms
  6. MEPs call for extra €10bn to boost EU's long-term budget
  7. No changes to Turkey deal on Nato, Sweden says
  8. Socialist MEP defends own side jobs after voting to ban others

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators, industry & healthcare experts at the 24th IMDRF session, September 25-26, Berlin. Register by 20 Sept to join in person or online.
  2. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  3. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  4. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators & industry experts at the 24th IMDRF session- Berlin September 25-26. Register early for discounted hotel rates
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch
  6. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  2. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  3. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics
  6. EFBWWEFBWW calls for the EC to stop exploitation in subcontracting chains

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us