MEPs will vote next week on a resolution calling for a ban on Irish alumina exports to Russia.
It comes as the Government finalises an investigation into the Aughinish Alumina plant in Co Limerick which exports half of its product to Russia where it is smelted into aluminium.
According to an Irish Times investigation, these smelters sell their product to a trading company which supplies huge amounts of aluminium to Russian arms manufactures.
There have been increasing calls for Ireland and the European Union to take action regarding the export of alumina to Russia, including this week from Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy who visited Dublin to mark Ireland taking over the EU presidency.
On Friday, a group of MEPs from the Socialists and Democrats group submitted a resolution calling for “reinforcement and expansion” of sanctions against Russia in response to the war in Ukraine. It calls for a complete ban on Russian steel products “and on the export of alumina to Russia”.
If it passes, the resolution will be symbolic as the implementation of sanctions is solely a matter for the European Commission. However, it would increase the pressure on Ireland and the EU to act.
From the Shannon to Siberia: How alumina from a Limerick refinery enters Russia’s weapons supply chain
- Aughinish Alumina in Co Limerick supplies vast amounts of raw materials to Russian aluminium smelters, according to an investigation by The Irish Times and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).
- Read the full investigation here.
The resolution is proposed by Kathleen Van Brempt from Belgium, Yannis Maniatis from Greece, Nacho Sanchez Amor from Spain and Thijs Reuten from the Netherlands.
Belgium’s government has already expressed a desire to close what it called the “loophole” which allows the export of alumina to Russia.
The idea of banning alumina exports of alumina to Russia was also pitched in confidential discussions at European Union (EU) level for more than a year and a half by the Estonian government, without success.
Outside of the EU Parliament, dozens of MEPs have written letters to the commission expressing similar views in recent months. This week, Vula Tsetsi, co-chair of the European Green Party, said Ireland “must suspend alumina exports to Russia immediately”.
The Government has said it will provide the EU commission with its investigation into Aughinish when it is complete.
The Shannon estuary refinery is owned by Russian metals giant Rusal, which Swedish tax authorities recently concluded remains under the control of sanctioned oligarch Oleg Deripaska.
Speaking during a visit to Co Cork on Friday, during which she chaired a meeting of EU commissioners, president of the commission Ursula von der Leyen said it is up to Ireland to set the timeline for the conclusion of the investigation.
Micheal McGrath, the Irish commissioner responsible for the rule of law, said that although alumina has not been sanctioned to date, the commission is open to examining its inclusion in the next sanctions package.
“We will examine the investigation report with interest,” he said.