Friday

9th Jun 2023

Ireland joins EU hawks on Russia, as outrage spreads

  • Russian diamond exports worth €4bn are on the expanded sanctions proposal (Photo: Wikimedia)
Listen to article

Ireland has joined Poland and the Baltic states in lobbying for more hawkish Russia sanctions, in a sign of widening moral outrage in Europe.

The Irish added their "IE" stamp to a 9-page long list of proposals, including bank and diamond industry bans, circulated in Brussels and seen by EUobserver on Friday (23 September).

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

  • No more smartphone sales to Russia, the group added (Photo: Wikimedia)

The Irish taoiseach, Micheál Martin, also condemned Russia's actions in strident terms at the UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday.

"Russia [is] behaving as a rogue state," he said, referring to its plan to annex parts of eastern Ukraine.

Ireland is neutral in military terms, located at the opposite end of Europe from the war, and has a liberal government.

Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are Nato hawks with Russian borders who fear Russian aggression and who have more conservative ruling parties.

The Irish foreign ministry declined to comment on the novel EU grouping.

One EU diplomat described it as a "big deal", which showed how the conflict was reshaping European politics. A second EU diplomat speculated that the US, which has close ties with Ireland, might have urged Dublin to side with Warsaw against more dovish EU capitals.

"We hope even more will join the group," a Polish diplomat said.

But a fourth EU diplomat said it wasn't so surprising, given Ireland's record of "maximalist" positions on human-rights issues.

The Irish-backed proposals say Russian lenders Gazprombank, Alfa Bank, Rosbank, and Tinkoff Bank should be cut off from the 'Swift' international payments grid.

A Gazprombank ban would have far-reaching consequences because it handles payments for Russian gas exports.

"It shall be prohibited to purchase, import, or transfer, directly or indirectly, diamonds ... if they originate in Russia and if they have been exported from Russia into the [European] Union or to any third country," the group also proposed to add to the EU's sanctions regime. Russian diamond exports are worth €4bn a year.

They called for a "ban on cooperating with Russia on nuclear energy", on the transfer of EU or US cash banknotes to Russia, and on sales of real estate to Russians.

In the services sector, the EU should impose a "ban on using Kaspersky Lab [a Russian cybersecurity giant] technology" inside Europe and stop EU firms from doing IT work for Russian clients, the group said.

On the counter-propaganda front, they proposed taking three Russian TV broadcasters (NTV Mir, REN TV, and Rossija 1), as well as six online ones (NewsFront, SouthFront, Katehon, Strategic Culture Foundation, Fondsk, and InfoRos), off the airwaves.

They also wanted an explicit ban on Russian funding for EU-registered lobbying firms, NGOs, and think-thanks.

They said people who help Russia to circumvent sanctions should themselves be put on EU visa-ban and asset-freeze blacklists.

And they listed dozens of high-tech products that should no longer be exported to the EU's war-mongering neighbour, including smartphones, radar equipment, and laser appliances.

Art of the possible

The proposals come as Russia-occupied regions in eastern Ukraine begin fake referendums on independence, leading to Russian annexation as early as next week.

All 27 EU countries are to hold talks with the EU Commission over the weekend on the feasibility of sanctions ideas.

"The Commission has carried out consultations with national capitals, so it's in the best position to know what would be acceptable to everyone," another EU diplomat said.

The minimum the EU will do is blacklist officials involved in the bogus referendums, list a few minor Russian banks, and ban some high-tech products, diplomats predicted.

They will also try to stop firms shipping Russian oil sold at inflated prices, for instance by invalidating insurance coverage for tankers involved in the trade.

The eighth round of sanctions comes after the EU already listed 1,206 Russians and struck out at most sectors of the Russian economy, leaving few big targets left.

It remains to be seen if Poland and the Baltic States make headway with Irish support.

Russia-friendly Hungary has in the past vetoed blacklistings and is up to its neck in nuclear cooperation with Russian firm Rosatom, which is building two reactors at Hungary's Paks atomic plant.

France, Germany, and Italy, as well as smaller countries, such as Austria, Cyprus, and Greece, are also more dovish than Poland and the Baltic states.

And some EU sources saw the Irish-Polish-Baltic paper as more of a roadmap for action further down the line, than as a list of demands to be implemented in reaction to the annexations.

"It's more of a reflection paper, showing the direction of travel," an EU contact said.

Finnish border guards will allow fleeing Russians to enter

Finland says there has not yet been a dramatic increase in Russian nationals trying to enter Finland from Russia, noting just over 4,800 Russian nationals crossed the land border on the day of Vladimir Putin's announcement of the draft.

Opinion

How to apply the Nuremberg model for Russian war crimes

A Special Tribunal on Russian war crimes in Ukraine must be convened, because no permanent or existing international judicial institution is endowed with jurisdiction over Russian high-ranking officials, writes the head of the Ukraine delegation to the Council of Europe.

Opinion

How the EU's money for waste went to waste in Lebanon

The EU led support for the waste management crisis in Lebanon, spending around €89m between 2004-2017, with at least €30m spent on 16 solid-waste management facilities. However, it failed to deliver.

Latest News

  1. EU's proposed ethics body 'toothless', say campaigners
  2. Study: 90% of Spanish inflation 'driven by corporate profits'
  3. If Spanish economy is doing well, why is Sanchez poised to lose?
  4. EU lawyering for Russia: making 'good' money?
  5. The 'BlackRock exemption' has no place in the EU's due diligence directive
  6. Europeans don't see China as a rival, but weapons to Russia is a red line
  7. Cleaning workers urge Parliament: 'Europe should lead by example'
  8. Final push for EU-Mercosur deal, amid deforestation fears

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations
  2. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  3. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  4. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. EFBWWEFBWW calls for the EC to stop exploitation in subcontracting chains
  2. InformaConnecting Expert Industry-Leaders, Top Suppliers, and Inquiring Buyers all in one space - visit Battery Show Europe.
  3. EFBWWEFBWW and FIEC do not agree to any exemptions to mandatory prior notifications in construction
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic and Baltic ways to prevent gender-based violence
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Economic gender equality now! Nordic ways to close the pension gap
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Pushing back the push-back - Nordic solutions to online gender-based violence

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us