European Parliament calls for ban on Irish alumina exports to Russia

The European Parliament has supported a non-binding resolution to ban alumina exports to Russia.

The Splash reports.

This concerns, in particular, the products of the Irish Aughinish Alumina plant, which, according to investigators, is delivered by sea to the Russian port near St. Petersburg, and then by rail to Rusal aluminum plants in Siberia.

The corresponding amendment of the European Parliament should increase political pressure on the European Commission and EU countries to close the sanction loophole that allows supplying Russia with raw materials for aluminum production.

Despite sanctions against Russia, alumina exports to the Russian Federation are not currently prohibited. The European Parliament called for it to be included in the list of goods restricted by sanctions in order to deprive Moscow of the resources necessary for its military-industrial complex.

The Aughinish Alumina plant in County Limerick, the largest alumina producer in Europe, was in the spotlight. The company is owned by Russian aluminum group Rusal.

According to an investigation by The Irish Times and OCCRP, more than half of Aughinish Alumina’s alumina exports since 2023 have been sent to Rusal’s Russian plants. After processing, these plants sold more than $650 million worth of aluminum to Moscow-based trading company ASK, whose clients include more than 40 Russian defense companies under EU sanctions.

Investigators have been unable to trace a specific batch of Irish alumina to a specific weapon because raw materials from different sources are mixed during the smelting process. However, customs, trade and financial records point to a supply chain from the Irish plant to Russian companies involved in the production of aluminum for defense companies.

From April 2024 to March 2025, direct alumina supplies from Aughinish Alumina to three Rusal entities in Russia amounted to 540,497 tons worth more than $307.85 million.

Despite this, the supplies remain legal, as the EU has banned imports of Russian aluminum, but not exports of alumina to Russia. The European Parliament said that this loophole allows Russia to obtain critical raw materials for the aluminum industry.

Aughinish Alumina previously stated that the company operates in full compliance with EU legislation, sanctions, export controls and trade rules. Irish authorities also emphasized that alumina is not currently a sanctioned product, so its export to Russia is not restricted.

USM previously reported that the US had lifted sanctions on two Russian dry bulk carriers.