EU: Wie der Oligarchen-Deal Europas Russland-Sanktionen aushebelt

The European Union removed Russian billionaires Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman from their sanctions list after France, Slovakia and Luxembourg threatened to veto a renewal of the sanctions. A last-minute compromise was reached, but the reason behind France's push for the exception remains unclear. Europe currently lists over 3000 names, including individuals and companies, with frozen assets and travel bans for EU nationals.

However, EU sanctions were typically extended every six months, providing Member States the opportunity to push for exceptions or special interests. Hungary, under former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, repeatedly threatened to collapse the entire sanctions regime. Slovakia took over Orbán's role post-election, and Bratislava is perceived as pro-Putin, often blocking sanctions renewals in recent weeks.

Other 26 Member States, as revealed by three senior diplomats to the Handelsblatt, aimed to pressure Slovakia into abandoning the blockade. France's intervention was aimed at the "special question of national security," requesting the removal of Usmanov from the sanctions list to allow the sanctions extension. In exchange, Paris demanded the release of two detained citizens in Azerbaijan, a claim Azerbaijan denies, though no official prisoner exchange has been confirmed.

On Wednesday, two days after sanctions on Usmanov lapsed, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev pardoned French businessman Martin Ryan, convicted of espionage. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also lobbied for Usmanov, listing Azerbaijan and three Central Asian states as supporters. Slovakia had long requested the removal of Usmanov and Fridman from the list, with Luxembourg advocating for Fridman's release due to a lawsuit demanding 16 billion dollars in damages from Luxembourg.

The compromise allowed both men to be removed from the sanctions list, while the sanctions against more than 3000 other individuals and organizations remained in place.