EU ambassadors are planning to remove former Russian Formula 1 driver Nikita Mazepin and Violetta Prigozhina, the mother of the dead Russian mercenary boss, from the list of sanctions later this week, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported on Sept. 9, citing undisclosed diplomatic sources.
The EU is expected to extend sanctions against some 2,300 entities and individuals associated with Russia's war against Ukraine by Sept. 15.
Hungary, which has repeatedly opposed sanctions on Russia and undermined Western aid efforts for Ukraine, once again reportedly demanded that several people be removed from the sanctions list in exchange for their support.
The Baltic States and Poland proposed that the EU should move from extending the sanctions for six months to making an annual decision, which Budapest opposed, RFE/RL reported.
Eventually, EU member states reached a compromise that would remove Mazepin and Prigozhina from the list, unnamed EU diplomats told RFE/RL. Both are considered "weak cases" by the EU legal service that monitors the judicial aspects of Brussels’ sanctions policy, the media outlet reported.
Nikita Mazepin, a son of Russian oligarch Dmitry Mazepin, won a case in the EU's General court to have the sanctions against him lifted. He has nevertheless remained on the general list, as the decision applies only to the previous period and Brussels has updated the lists according to new criteria since that, according to the court.
Violetta Prigozhina, the mother of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner Group founder who died in a mysterious plane crash in August 2023, remained on the sanctions list for the same reason.
In March, the EU decided to lift sanctions against Arkady Volozh, the co-founder of Russia's most popular search engine, Yandex.
Martin Fornusek
