European Commission spokesperson Siobhán McGarry announced the review during a briefing in Brussels, according to Ukrinform's correspondent.

McGarry confirmed that the Commission received on Friday the findings of an investigation conducted by the Irish government. The report found no evidence to support claims that alumina produced in Ireland is being used by Russia in weapons manufacturing, a conclusion that could otherwise have led to potential EU sanctions or other restrictive measures.

"The Commission is examining the report and analyzing the role played by Aughinish itself vis a vis its export flows to Russia and to any third countries," McGarry said.

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She added that, following this assessment, the Commission intends to determine possible next steps on the matter.

McGarry stressed that alumina exports are not currently subject to EU sanctions, describing the policy as part of a "delicate balance" between maintaining economic pressure on Russia and protecting the economic interests of individual EU member states. At the same time, she reiterated that any cooperation with Russia's defense industry, including indirect support for its military-industrial complex, is prohibited. However, responsibility for monitoring compliance with EU sanctions rests primarily with the member states. Consequently, it was the Irish government's responsibility to carry out the initial investigation into the possible use of Irish-produced alumina in Russian weapons manufacturing.

The spokesperson did not provide technical details on how the Commission would review Ireland's report. In particular, she declined to say whether it would separately investigate the reported 25% increase in Russia's alumina imports following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

As previously reported, media outlets, citing leaked documents and publicly available data, alleged that Ireland's leading alumina refinery, which is part of the Russian-owned Rusal Group, forms part of an international aluminum supply chain that ultimately supplies weapons manufacturers supporting the Kremlin's war effort.

During a press conference in Kyiv, Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin said that the trade in alumina is strategically important and plays a key role in European supply chains. He pledged that the Irish authorities would cooperate with the European Commission on how we address this issue, because we do not want these materials ending up in Russia.

Photo: European Commission