The ISU received a specific request from the Figure Skating Federation of Russia pointing out that the skater Evgeny Plushenko was unable, for different reasons, to obtain the required minimum score in an International Competition during the ongoing and past season. Based on this request and also noting that Evgeny Plushenko has recently returned to competitive skating by winning the Russian National Championships at the end of December 2011, the ISU Council exceptionally agreed to accept the entry of Evgeny Plushenko into the ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2012 in Sheffield/Great Britain. This exceptional decision is valid for the ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2012 only.