DISINFO: The EU anti-Russian sanctions kill the economic sovereignty of Europe
SUMMARY
The EU remains captive to its arrogant perception of Russia – Europe was wrong in all its predictions about [catastrophic] consequences of the “suffocating” sanctions. Each next “package” of the EU anti-Russian sanctions clearly shows that this tool does not work.
The sanctions primarily kill the economic sovereignty of the European Union. The EU can impose as many restrictions on trade with Russia as it wants, but this will only increase its dependence on direct competitors.
RESPONSE
Recurring disinformation about sanctions on Russia, and on EU disintegration.
The EU adopted so far ten sanction packages against Russia due to its illegal aggression and occupation of Ukrainian territories.
According to the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 2022 was a bad year for the Russian economy. It is estimated that in 2022, Russia’s gross domestic product (GDP) dropped by at least 2.2% in the best-case scenario and by up to 3.9% in the worst-case scenario.
Russia’s economy may continue to shrink in 2023. Its GDP is forecast to decline by 5.6% in the worst-case scenario (OECD) or by 3.3% according to the World Bank. The IMF expects slight growth in 2023 (0.3%).
Figures are proving that the restrictive measures are yielding results. Both the World Bank and the IMF estimated that in 2022, Russia’s trade in goods and services was set to decline significantly. In 2023, exports will continue to decline, while imports are expected to be higher than in 2022.
An analysis of the impact of those sanctions on the Russian economy is available here.
See also the assessment of EU HRVP Josep Borrell: sanction policy is working and strongly impacts the Russian economy.
Claims about the EU losing its economic sovereignty are often employed by pro-Kremlin outlets, often in the same sentence as claims about puppet states and foreign masters.
in the case of energy, for example, the EU took steps “to secure the EU’s energy supplies, such as a gas storage regulation, a gas demand reduction regulation, the creation of an EU energy platform and outreach initiatives for the diversification of supply sources.”
The Autumn 2022 Eurobarometer survey shows that three-quarters of EU citizens approve of the EU’s overall support of Ukraine as well as the specific measures including sanctions against Russia. Democracy, human rights, and free speech are paramount to EU citizens as they call on the European Parliament to defend these values on which the EU is founded.
Read here about the EU and the US sanctions explained.
See other similar examples of disinformation: US is destroying industry in Europe by forcing Brussels to sanction Russia; Western sanctions on Russian energy jeopardize the global economy; Sanctions that were supposed to destroy Russia may disintegrate the EU.