EU ambassadors in Brussels agreed Wednesday to add 1,646 names to the bloc’s Russia sanctions list, extending travel bans, asset freezes and funding prohibitions through decisions by member states. The package targets 743 individuals and 826 entities accused of supporting Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Another 77 lawmakers face sanctions for standing in the widely discredited State Duma election in Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine in September.
Foreign ministers are due to formally approve the measures on Monday in Luxembourg. Only then will officials publish the names of the targeted people and entities. Until the ministers decide, member states handle the list behind closed doors, with restrictions on movement, money and access to funding.
The Brussels apparatus counts names
Ambassadors reached the deal after several weeks of deliberations and legal checks, with the unusually large number of names making the process particularly intensive. No single expansion of Russia sanctions has been this large, and the blacklist will soon cover almost 4,650 names. Each addition requires agreement among member states, while the public must wait for formal approval to learn who faces sanctions.
Member states wanted to conclude the deal and project unity amid a rapid succession of hybrid attacks, some attributed to Russia. That display follows a set routine: ambassadors negotiate, lawyers scrutinise, foreign ministers approve, and the people named face restrictions. The article doesn't identify the individuals or entities yet, or detail the evidence behind each listing; it says they're accused of supporting the invasion.
Officials have already begun work on new listings in response to the drone incident at Leipzig airport in Germany. The incident adds to the reasons cited for presenting a united front, but officials are still developing the proposed listings. The sanctions deal also follows a dispute that showed how member states can shape the blacklist.
Unanimity, vetoes and the blacklist
Last month, the EU removed two high-profile oligarchs, Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman, from the blacklist. France requested Usmanov’s removal in connection with a prisoner release with Azerbaijan brokered by the Turkic states, which had long lobbied in the billionaire’s favour. One French citizen has been released; a second remains in prison.
The EU extended the sanctions list for an unprecedented three years in exchange for what officials described as a painful concession. Earlier this week, High Representative Kaja Kallas welcomed the renewal but said she thought Usmanov and Fridman wouldn't be included again. “Countries are free to put forward names that should be included in the sanctions list. But in the end, it is up to the member states to decide,” Kallas said. “And I do not see this on these two persons happening any time soon.”
The dispute has left Brussels weighing the precedent for the EU’s common foreign policy, which depends on unanimity. As the bloc prepares to admit new members, the European Commission has proposed using the passerelle clause to move from unanimity to qualified majority voting on issues such as sanctions, avoiding an increase in vetoes. The clause itself requires unanimity to end unanimity. So the same member states still hold authority over a system that depends on their agreement.