EU extends Russia sanctions by just seven days as Slovakia and France block renewal
EU ambassadors failed on 14 September to agree on extending personal sanctions against Russia, forcing Coreper to extend the regime for only seven days until midnight on 22 September. Slovakia insists on removing oligarchs Mikhail Fridman and Alisher Usmanov from the list, and France joined that demand on 11 September, leaving the broader renewal in limbo.
Key points
- Coreper extended the EU sanctions regime on Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty for seven days, until midnight on 22 September.
- Slovakia is demanding the removal of Mikhail Fridman and Alisher Usmanov from the sanctions list; France joined the call on Usmanov on 11 September.
- EU ambassadors failed to reach unanimity on 11 September because of the Franco-Slovak demands.
- The sanctions list includes Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
- Usmanov has been under EU sanctions since February 2022 and is described by the EU as having particularly close ties to Putin.
- Croatia and Italy also reportedly back removing Usmanov as a compromise, while most member states oppose the change, according to the Financial Times.
- Failure to reach unanimity would collapse the entire EU sanctions regime against Russia.
Why it matters
Because EU sanctions against Russia require unanimity, a single member state can in principle block renewal. With Slovakia and now France pushing to delist specific oligarchs and ambassadors unable to break the impasse, the entire EU sanctions regime — including the listings of Vladimir Putin and Sergei Lavrov — is at risk of lapsing if no agreement is reached before 22 September.
What happened
On 14 September, the EU Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) met in Brussels and extended the sanctions regime covering violations of Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty by just seven days, expiring at midnight on 22 September. The short extension follows the failure of EU ambassadors to reach unanimity on 11 September on a longer renewal. Slovakia is insisting that Russian oligarchs Mikhail Fridman and Alisher Usmanov be removed from the list, and France joined the demand regarding Usmanov on 11 September. Croatia and Italy are also reported to support a compromise that would delist Usmanov, while the Financial Times reports that most EU member states oppose the Franco-Slovak position. The Irish Presidency of the EU has called renewal of the lists a priority, necessary to continue undermining Russia's war machine and to keep pressure on individuals and entities that support it. The European Commission did not respond to a request for comment. Diplomats have expressed hope that consensus can still be found within the seven-day window, but failure to reach unanimity would terminate the entire EU sanctions regime against Russia. The previous extension of the personal sanctions regime was approved on 14 March, when Slovakia similarly pushed until the last moment to have Fridman and Usmanov removed.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
All four sources covering this story are Ukrainian, and they frame it as a crisis of EU unity over Russian sanctions. Ukrainian-language coverage emphasizes the role of Slovakia and France in blocking renewal and names Fridman and Usmanov directly in headlines, presenting the dispute as a threat to the coherence of the Western sanctions architecture that Ukraine relies on.
Where reporting differs
Sources describe the deadline for extending EU sanctions differently. One set of facts states that the existing deadline expires on Tuesday, 15 September, while the Coreper decision of 14 September sets a new expiry at midnight on Tuesday, 22 September. The 22 September date reflects the seven-day extension actually adopted; the 15 September figure refers to the prior deadline before Coreper acted.
Background
Alisher Usmanov has been under EU sanctions since February 2022 and is described by the EU as having particularly close ties to Vladimir Putin and as having supported Russian officials. Usmanov has challenged his inclusion on the list in European courts. During the previous extension on 14 March, Slovakia also pushed until the last moment to have both Fridman and Usmanov removed.