EU Coreper fails to extend Russia sanctions as Slovakia and France push to delist oligarchs
EU ambassadors meeting on 21 September failed to reach consensus on extending the bloc's individual sanctions regime against Russia, which covers roughly 3,000 individuals and entities including Vladimir Putin. Slovakia and France insisted on delisting sanctioned oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman; a compromise deal that would have extended the regime for 36 months in exchange for delisting them collapsed after Latvia blocked it. Coreper scheduled a further meeting for the morning of 22 September, hours before the midnight deadline at which the entire regime would lapse without unanimous renewal. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha publicly called any delisting unacceptable and a wrong signal to Moscow.
Key points
- EU Coreper met at least twice on 21 September and tried a written-procedure vote in the evening, but failed to reach agreement on extending the individual sanctions regime.
- Slovakia and France demanded the delisting of Russian oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman; Luxembourg also pushed for Fridman's removal.
- The Irish Presidency proposed a 36-month extension in exchange for delisting both oligarchs; Latvia publicly blocked the compromise, saying delisting them could not be the price of renewal.
- The current regime, built up since 2014 and covering approximately 3,000 individuals and entities including Putin, expires at midnight on 22 September unless all 27 member states agree to renew it.
- EU ambassadors are scheduled to reconvene on the morning of 22 September (around 09:00 Kyiv time) to try again before the deadline.
- Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the delisting of Usmanov and Fridman unacceptable, warned it would send the wrong signal to Moscow, and proposed extending the sanctions for 12 months instead of six and expanding the lists.
- Previous extensions took place on 14 March (regular six-month renewal) and 14 September (a seven-day bridge extension), with Slovakia already having pushed to delist the same two oligarchs in March.
Why it matters
The sanctions regime at stake covers roughly 3,000 individuals and entities, including Vladimir Putin and other senior Russian figures, and requires unanimity among all 27 EU member states to renew. If no agreement is reached by midnight on 22 September, the entire regime lapses at once, lifting entry bans and unfreezing the assets of those listed. Slovakia's and France's push to delist Usmanov and Fridman — and Latvia's block of the resulting compromise — exposes how individual member states can still shape, weaken or obstruct EU Russia policy, even as Ukraine's government publicly insists that any concession sends the wrong signal to Moscow.
What happened
On 21 September 2026, the EU's Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) met in Brussels and failed, across at least two meetings and an evening written-procedure vote, to extend the bloc's individual sanctions regime against Russia. The sticking point was Slovakia's insistence on delisting Russian oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman, joined by France (on Usmanov) and Luxembourg (on Fridman, tied to a $16 billion arbitration case Fridman has filed against Luxembourg in Hong Kong). The Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU proposed a compromise: extend the entire regime, which currently covers around 3,000 individuals and entities including Putin, Sergei Lavrov, Viktor Medvedchuk and former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, for 36 months in exchange for removing Usmanov and Fridman from the list. EU ambassadors reached a preliminary agreement on that package and a written procedure was attempted in the evening, but not all member states submitted voting results and the deal was blocked. Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs publicly stated that Latvia could not accept delisting the two oligarchs, and the compromise collapsed. Coreper scheduled a further meeting for the morning of 22 September, around 09:00 Kyiv time, hours before the regime's existing authorization expires at midnight Brussels time on 22 September. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, writing on X on 21 September, called any delisting of Usmanov and Fridman unacceptable and a wrong signal to Moscow, and proposed extending the regime for 12 months instead of six and expanding the individual sanctions lists. President Volodymyr Zelensky and Deputy Prime Minister Vsevolod Chentsov publicly echoed that position.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
All of the supplied sources are Ukrainian, and they uniformly frame the dispute as a test of EU resolve on Russia. Ukrainian officials — Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Vsevolod Chentsov, President Volodymyr Zelensky and Head of the Office of the President Kyrylo Budanov — publicly opposed any delisting of Usmanov and Fridman and warned that concessions to individual member states would send the wrong signal to Moscow. Ukrainian coverage also highlights the renewal mechanics: the Coreper meetings, the unanimity requirement and the risk that the entire regime covering roughly 3,000 listed persons could lapse at midnight on 22 September if no compromise is reached.
Background
The EU sanctions regime covering persons responsible for undermining Ukraine's territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence was first formed in 2014 and has been renewed every six months. Since 2022 it has included Vladimir Putin, Russian leadership, leading oligarchs, former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Viktor Medvedchuk. The last regular renewal was on 14 March 2026, when Slovakia again pushed until the last moment to remove Usmanov and Fridman. On 14 September 2026, with the regime's previous six-month authorization about to expire, Coreper extended it for only seven days — until midnight 22 September — because Slovakia and France continued to insist on the two oligarchs' delisting. EU sanctions on Usmanov and Fridman were imposed in 2022; the EU cited Usmanov's 'particularly close ties' to Putin. Fridman is co-founder of Russia's Alfa Group and was co-owner of Sense Bank (formerly Alfa-Bank Ukraine), which Ukraine nationalized in 2023 after sanctions on its Russian shareholders. Eleven EU member states have called for abolishing the unanimity principle that allows individual states to block sanctions decisions.