Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Latvia, and Estonia are the four EU countries that have suggested to Brussels that imports of copper, aluminium, and ferrous metal scrap and waste be prohibited from Russia. The Lithuanian Ministry of the Environment made this claim in a statement.
The EU imported ferrous, copper, and aluminium scrap and waste from Russia in 2022–2023, valued at over €118 million, according to the Lithuanian Ministry of the Environment. The majority of these imports go via Lithuania.
As part of the 13th set of sanctions, European aluminium producers applied pressure to the EU in February, with the backing of four member states. The embargo was placed on aluminium imports from Russia.
Even now, two years after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, 9% of Europe’s aluminium imports come from Russia. This metal was imported from Russia in 2022 for a total estimated value of €2.3 billion.