The European Commission has no plans at present to propose sanctioning alumina supplied to Russia by Aughinish Alumina, due to the knock-on effect such a move would have on European industry.An Irish Times investigation, carried out in co-operation with the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, found that the Aughinish Alumina plant in Co Limerick is shipping vast amounts of alumina to smelters in Russia where it is used to make aluminium, which is then sold to a trading company, ASK, that supplies dozens of Russian arms manufacturers.Rusal, the company that owns the Aughinish plant, has deep connections to the Kremlin and Moscow’s arms industry.The revelations about the downstream role the Limerick plant plays in the supply chain of the Russian military effort has led to calls for its exports to Russia to be targeted in EU economic sanctions. However, it is understood Aughinish Alumina is not expected to be targeted in a fresh package of sanctions being drawn up by the commission in Brussels. The plant employs almost 1,000 people, with another 1,000 working in supporting companies. EU officials are concerned about the knock-on impact of a decision to levy economic sanctions on alumina or the Rusal-owned plant, due to its role as a major supplier of European smelters and heavy industry. The Government has argued that sanctions aimed at hindering Russia’s ability to continue its war in Ukraine cannot be allowed to hurt the EU more than they would harm Moscow. National governments are to begin debating the scope of the EU’s next bundle of sanctions on Russia, the 21st round of measures since the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Belgium’s foreign minister Maxime Prévot has said he would push for sanctions on the Co Limerick plant at EU level. [ From the Shannon to Siberia: How alumina from a Limerick refinery enters Russia’s weapons supply chainOpens in new window ]The commission has also come under pressure from a sizeable number of MEPs in the European Parliament, who want the EU executive body to propose action to cut off Aughinish Alumina’s ability to export to Russia. That call has been backed by MEPs from Renew and the European People’s Party (EPP), the European political groupings of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. It is understood Fianna Fáil has argued within the Renew group that the Co Limerick plant should not be hit in future rounds of EU sanctions.The European Parliament has no role in setting sanctions, which are proposed by the commission and then have to be unanimously approved by all 27 member states. The Government would have the power to veto any EU drive to sanction alumina or target the Co Limerick plant. [ Pressure grows on Government over Aughinish Alumina as dozens of MEPs demand export banOpens in new window ]European Parliament vice-president Pina Picierno wrote to the commission a number of weeks ago, asking for alumina to be included in the next sanctions package.“It is unacceptable that, while the EU funds Ukraine’s defence, a Russian-owned company operates undisturbed within a member state, supplying the Kremlin’s military industry,” Picierno wrote.Over the past decade the Government has lobbied in Washington and Brussels to exempt the Russian-owned plant from sanctions targeting Moscow.