EU removes two Russian billionaires from sanctions blacklist

The European Union has removed two prominent Russian businessmen, Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman, from its sanctions blacklist, according to reporting by POLITICO on the matter.

Decision follows lobbying

The delisting reportedly came after several EU member states yielded to lobbying efforts led by France. The negotiations and the process that led to the decision took place behind closed doors, meaning the wider public and other interested parties had no direct visibility into how the outcome was reached.

Both Usmanov and Fridman had previously been included among the individuals subject to EU restrictive measures. Removal from such a list typically affects the legal status of a person's assets, travel and other activities within the European Union, though the specific conditions attached to this delisting or its immediate practical consequences were not detailed in the available reporting.

A process without public transparency

The fact that the decision followed lobbying and that member states ultimately yielded behind closed doors suggests continuing disagreement within the EU over sanctions policy toward individuals linked to Russia. France's role is described as decisive, since its lobbying is what appears to have shifted the positions of other capitals.

The development points to an ongoing internal EU debate about how, and for how long, restrictive measures against individuals connected to Russia should be maintained, as well as about the degree to which such decisions are made outside public scrutiny.