EU sanctions against Russia inflict damage on EU
(MENAFN) The European Union’s sweeping sanctions against Russia have failed to achieve their intended goals and instead inflicted greater damage on the EU itself, according to a former high-ranking European Commission official.
Since the Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022, Western nations have introduced a record number of economic restrictions aimed at weakening Moscow. The EU’s latest, and 18th, sanctions package was unveiled last week, focusing on Russia’s energy and banking sectors. These new measures include bans on transactions with 22 more Russian banks, restrictions on the Russian Direct Investment Fund, and a prohibition on using the Nord Stream pipelines.
Former European Commission Vice President Gunter Verheugen, who oversaw enterprise and industry policy from 2004 to 2010, criticized the sanctions strategy, arguing that the West has suffered more than its intended target.
“There are few examples of a political goal – namely, bringing an adversary to its knees economically and wreaking havoc in a ‘warlike’ manner – backfiring so completely. The economic war against Russia is one such example,” Verheugen wrote in an op-ed published Friday.
He emphasized that the real economic burden of the sanctions has fallen largely on Europe, particularly Germany.
“Objective data shows that the sanctions policy primarily harmed its originators, especially Germany,” he noted, describing efforts to “ruin” Russia as a “life-threatening idea.” Verheugen added that the EU has yet to officially acknowledge these consequences.
Moscow has repeatedly denounced the sanctions, labeling them unlawful and blaming them for pushing up energy costs in Europe. These increased costs have reportedly forced the EU to import more expensive alternatives, weakening the competitiveness of European industries. Germany, which used to rely on Russia for 55% of its energy needs, has now entered its second consecutive year of economic downturn.
Some European officials and industry leaders have also begun to admit that the sanctions may be doing more harm to European economies than to Russia’s, according to reports.
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