The European Union agreed to prolong visa bans and asset freezes on the over 2,600 people and entities the bloc deems responsible for the undermining of Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
The blacklist, which was created after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine over three years ago, needs to be renewed every six months, normally in mid-September and mid-March.
European diplomats have been in discussion about a rollover for the past two weeks, notably as both Hungary and Slovakia indicated they would leverage their green lights for an extension conditional on the delisting of a number of Russian businessmen.
In March, oligarch Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor, Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyaryov, and Gulbahor Ismailova, the sister of billionaire tycoon Alisher Usmanov, were removed from the blacklist in this way.
According to several EU officials speaking to RFE/RL on condition of anonymity, Bratislava was pushing for Usmanov and businessman Mikhail Fridman to be removed. In addition to those two individuals, Hungary also suggested oligarchs Dmitry Mazepin, Pyotr Aven, Musa Bazhaev, and Albert Avdolyan for delisting.
The other 25 EU member states, led by Denmark current holder of the rotating EU presidency, were against what they saw as “political delistings” and decided not to discuss the issue on the ambassadorial level until September 12, only three days before the deadline of the expiry of all personal sanctions.
Three Significant Events
According to several diplomats familiar with the process, three events improved the negotiating hand of the 25 countries in recent days.
Firstly, the Russian drone incursion into Poland on the early morning of September 10 strengthened the argument that this isn’t the time to let sanctions slide against people close to the Kremlin.
Secondly, that same day the European Court of Justice (ECJ) dismissed the appeals of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, now residing in Russia, and Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich to be taken off the same sanctions list.
This reinforced the legal argument of Denmark and the others that the blacklist is based on solid evidence.
Finally, officials also noted that the United States put informal pressure on both Bratislava and Budapest to agree.
In the end, the EU ambassadors found consensus on a compromise in which no political delistings would occur this time, but that the rollover would remain for six months and not the 12 months that many European capitals had been pushing for to avoid repeating the same process twice a year.
A full review of the blacklist will also occur ahead of the new March 2026 deadline.
