Europe is facing growing political and social pressure to move beyond sanctions and asset freezes toward something far more consequential in its economic war with Russia: nationalizing strategic Russian industrial assets operating in Ireland, Finland and other parts of Europe.

Two cases now sit at the center of that debate: Aughinish in Limerick, Ireland, and nickel operations linked to Finland’s industrial ecosystem and Nornickel, both ultimately controlled by Russian oligarchs. The argument is no longer theoretical. It is driven by claims that these assets sit uncomfortably close to supply chains feeding Russia’s war economy.Moscow has already forcefully taken foreign firms in its country under state control since the start of the war. For Europe and its member states, learning from that playbook could be an important tool in the effort to address gaps in the sanctions regime.

In Ireland, the Aughinish alumina refinery, part of an industrial network linked to oligarch Oleg Deripaska’s Rusal, has come under a firestorm following investigations by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and The Irish Times. These reports suggest alumina from the plant was routed to Russian smelters, with the resulting aluminum ultimately reaching sanctioned arms manufacturers.

Amid mounting calls for state intervention, critics argue that Ireland should not be profiting from exports that directly or indirectly sustain Russia’s war machine. The trade may be legal, but for a country about to assume the European Union’s presidency in July, it is increasingly impossible to defend.

While no formal move has been taken, the political argument is hardening: that alumina is not just an industrial input, but a strategic input feeding sectors from aerospace to defence and therefore cannot sit comfortably within structures tied to Russian capital.

Forty-seven MEPs across the political spectrum have urged EU leaders to redirect Irish alumina into European supply chains and address the issue in the next sanctions package. In a joint letter, the politicians argue the tools already exist and only political will is lacking.

Sanctioned........

© The Moscow Times