Inclusion of Russian Alrosa diamond company on the list of those being sanctioned by Europe

Priority question for written answer  P-001345/2022/rev.1
to the Council
Rule 138
Kathleen Van Brempt (S&D)

On 22 February 2022, the US imposed sanctions on the Russian diamond company Alrosa, which is linked to the financing and production of Russian nuclear weapons and warships. I am surprised that the EU has not yet taken similar measures. The EU is currently importing significant quantities of Russian diamonds each year (to the value of USD 1.4 billion in 2020), thereby funding the Russian war machine.

• 1.Will Alrosa and its CEO Sergei Ivanov be placed on the sanctions list so as to exclude Russian diamonds from our market?
• 2.If so, how can the Council ensure that the sanctions are effective and that Russian diamonds do not enter the EU market through other channels - via Dubai to give an obvious example?
• 3.Can lessons be drawn from experience with the Kimberley Process and is the Council planning to broaden the definition of ‘conflict-free diamonds’ to include Alrosa and to ban diamonds linked to states such as Russia that are guilty of human rights violations?