The EU is stalling on sanctioning alumina exports to Russia.
Aughinish Alumina is the largest alumina refinery in Europe, owned by Rusal, a company founded by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.
According to available trade data, direct shipments of alumina from the Aughinish Alumina plant to three Russian Rusal entities amounted to 540,497 tonnes, valued at over $307.85m [€263m], between April 2024 and March 2025.
However, the EU did not ban the export of alumina to Russia.
The excuses on offer are familiar: this won’t hurt Moscow much, and if you push too hard, the Irish plant will simply cut off supplies to Europe instead.
