Following the sanctions against Russia, Russian imports to Europe fell by more than 60% and European exports to Russia by a third. But one sector has not been sanctioned by the Member States, that of diamonds. The United States did. So why such an “oblivion” within the European Union?
The diamond district does not look like much, three dull streets located a stone’s throw from Antwerp station. However, if you look closely, you can see cameras everywhere and as a security measure, barriers prevent access to the perimeter for vehicles. Because here is played the largest part of the world trade in diamonds.
Behind the secure doors of the stock exchanges, the buying and selling of these precious stones, whether cut or in their rough state, is negotiated. Of these, about a quarter are Russian diamonds, the importation of which still escapes any sanction.
The professionals crowd in the rain from one building to another, most of them refusing to broach the subject. Only Christophe, employed by a company specializing in the transport of precious stones, agrees to take a few minutes. ” I believe that many companies and people who work here in the diamond sector already refuse to work with Russian diamonds. There are companies that still do of course, but yeah that’s a tough one there’s so much money at stake “.
” The diamonds will just be sold elsewhere »
In 2021, 1.8 billion euros of Russian diamonds were thus imported into Antwerp. The figures for last year are not yet known, but even if estimates predict a slight decrease, the value of imports should still reach 1.3 billion euros. ” A substantial sum that directly finances the war in Ukraine say proponents of a ban on Russian diamonds.
An argument swept away by Tom Neys, the spokesperson for the Antwerp World Diamond Center, the AWDC, the association of diamond dealers in Antwerp. He recalls the vital importance of diamonds for Belgium which represents, according to him, 1,500 companies and 30,000 direct and indirect jobs. “ If you put in place sanctions, that means that you are forcing these companies to go elsewhere. There’s a lot of naivety there. Of course, Russia is not going to stop selling diamonds because Europe is going to refuse them. The diamonds will simply go away and be sold elsewhere. And Europe will once again lose a $40 billion industry. »
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Hans Merket does not believe these figures. For this researcher specializing in the links between natural resources and conflict and who is particularly interested in the diamond sector, there would be a way to act, but the lobbying of diamond dealers is very effective and has relays, he acknowledges. ” There was pressure from Belgian politicians. They used several arguments, saying that this sector will move to Dubai, for example. They presented a lot of catastrophic scenarios like losing jobs, the end of Antwerp, the diamond capital. Our Prime Minister even said that Ukraine would suffer, because Belgium would fall into an economic crisis because of these sanctions and that there would be no more means to help Ukraine. These are all scenarios far from reality, which led to a very passive approach. »
” Too hard to sanction Russian diamonds »
Indeed, at a time when nine sanctions packages have already been adopted by the Member States since the start of the war in Ukraine, the 27 have never discussed possible sanctions concerning the diamond sector. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had called for sanctions on diamond imports, a source of income for the Russian authorities.
NGOs like Transparency International denounce Belgium’s hypocritical position. “ We have never seen even a draft where it would have been written “yes we sanction diamond imports from Russia”, remarkRoland Papp, Illicit Financial Flows Specialist at Transparency. They stop this kind of proposal very early on, before it even comes to the vote. Because the Member States and the Commission do not want a last minute surprise. They prefer to propose sanctions on which all Member States already agree. And this is where we can speak of cynicism for the entire diamond sector and for Belgium. The Belgian government publicly says it won’t oppose it if it’s put on the sanctions list, but behind the scenes it has been struggling since the start of the conflict to make it clear that it would be too hard for him. Therefore, the Commission will never propose it! », says Roland Papp.
Last July, Transparency International wrote a letter to the Belgian government and the European Commission calling for the implementation of sanctions on diamond imports from Russia. She just received a response from the Commission a few days ago. Unsurprisingly, she says she is aware of calls to ban imports of Russian diamonds and determined to implement or strengthen existing sanctions. And is content to recall that any new possible sanction must be taken unanimously by the Member States.
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