France has a week to reassure fellow EU countries that its push to remove a controversial Russian-Uzbek billionaire from the bloc’s sanctions list won’t start a free-for-all that fractures restrictions on Moscow.
Ambassadors failed to agree on Monday on whether to remove mining and metals tycoon Alisher Usmanov from the blacklist during a closed-door meeting, known as Coreper. Five diplomats and officials involved in the discussions told POLITICO it’s now up to Paris, which blindsided colleagues in backing the delisting of Usmanov, to explain how doing so wouldn’t set a dangerous precedent. The envoys will reconvene Sept. 22.
“If France goes ahead with this, others will come forward with their own oligarchs that should be delisted … [then] the house of cards starts to fall,” said a senior EU official who, like others, was granted anonymity to speak frankly. “We have a week for them to come up with safe-guardings and negotiate, saying ‘if we do this, what’s the timeline, how do we stop it applying to everyone.’ But I don’t see how that’s possible.”
by POLITICO – EU demands answers as France pushes for billionaire’s Russia sanctions release
