The European Union may lift sanctions against some Russian citizens

This is reported by Bloomberg, citing sources. As you know, Brussels has imposed sanctions against several hundred people, including officials, businessmen, media executives, diplomats, who, according to the EU, benefit from the situation in Ukraine and ties with the Russian authorities.

So, in early June 2022, the EU adopted the sixth package of sanctions against Russia, which included personal sanctions against Russians who somehow support the special operation in Ukraine. Among them were the founder of Yandex Arkady Volozh, the head of the board of directors of the National Media Group Alina Kabaeva, the wife of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov Tatyana Navka, their children Nikolai and Lisa, the son of "Putin's cook" Evgeny Prigozhin Pavel, the head of Roskomnadzor Andrey Lipov and Russian businessman Eduard Khudainatov.

However, EU lawyers concluded that in some cases the grounds for imposing sanctions were "weak". Already about 30 people, according to the publication, have filed a lawsuit against the EU with a request to remove them from the sanctions lists. In addition, about 10 more people have addressed directly to the European Union with a similar request, and as lawyers say, some of these appeals are completely justified. The fact is that the evidence of their involvement in the events in Ukraine is either outdated, or does not correspond to reality, or is not sufficient to include them in the “black lists”.

In total, according to Bloomberg, 41 lawsuits were filed by individuals and legal entities about EU sanctions, but neither the names nor the exact number of Russians for whom such a decision was made is indicated. It should be taken into account that every case of this kind lost in court threatens with serious reputational and economic costs for the European Union.

It is known that such well-known Russian oligarchs as the founder of USM Holdings Alisher Usmanov, the CEO of Severstal Alexei Mordashov and the founder of the Siberian Coal Energy Company Andrey Melnichenko and his wife Alexandra have already tried to get out of the sanctions lists.

However, exclusion from the sanctions lists is possible only with the consent of the EU member states. Some diplomats warned European countries against hasty decisions in this area, sources told Bloomberg.