Fur is an unprofitable industry that costs Europeans more than it generates in economic value. It reduces the EU economy, generating a loss of €9.2 million in gross value added per year and around €446 million in environmental and health costs.

So why is the EU still importing fur, from Russia of all places?

In April, the EU banned imports of tanned furskins from Russia as part of a sanctions package. In July, just three months later, EU governments allowed an exemption for Russian sable pelt imports. “Apparently, it’s very difficult to get them anywhere else,” a senior EU official told Euractiv.

The decision came unexpectedly, in part because the EU is currently considering a full ban on fur farming. More than 1.5 million EU citizens backed a European Citizens' Initiative known as “Fur Free Europe” in 2022–23, surpassing the threshold after which the Commission is obliged to consider its demands. Public opinion clearly favours an EU-wide ban on fur farming.

Speaking anonymously to Euractiv, European diplomats said Greece and Italy, home to traditional fur-making centres, lobbied to have Russian fur removed from the sanctions list. Sable is one of the world’s most expensive furs, and Italian and Greek companies remain among Russia’s largest foreign buyers, despite the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Concerns about animal welfare, the environment, and ethics have led governments across the continent to take a tougher line on fur farming: it's already banned in 24 European countries, including 18 EU member states.

But in 2024, Greece imported about €1.56 million worth of furskins from Russia. Across the EU, imports from Russia reached about €12 million that year.

In a written statement, Joanna Swabe of Humane World for Animals said: “The EU cannot credibly maintain sanctions on Russian luxury goods while carving out exemptions for the raw materials that allow luxury fur manufacturing to continue inside Europe.”

Despite being unprofitable, fur farming has remained a major recipient of public funds, animal welfare organisations say. In 2022, for instance, the Greek government supported around 2,000 mostly family-run fur businesses after sanctions were imposed on luxury fur coat exports to Russia, a measure the businesses fiercely opposed.

Scientific assessments, including by the European Food Safety Authority, suggest that fur farming is incompatible with animal welfare. Fur-bearing animals are kept in cages, unable to move freely or engage in natural behaviours.

Four years have passed since EU citizens demanded a ban on fur farming, but the Commission has yet to make a final decision on whether it will propose a ban.

According to a leaked internal draft communication seen by Politico, the Commission is preparing to reject a full fur-farming ban due to “significant economic impacts” for the remaining fur-producing regions. Instead, it may introduce minimum “welfare standards”, including EU-wide rules for keeping mink, foxes, raccoon dogs, and chinchillas by the end of 2027.