Sanctions Against Russia Will Negatively Impact the European Union

The leader of the European People's Party (EPP) in the European Parliament, Manfred Weber, has deemed the sanctions imposed by the European Union on Russian banks due to the events in Ukraine as "not sufficient" but has warned that they will have certain repercussions for the European economy. He expressed this opinion in an interview with Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) on March 3.

"The measures taken so far are not enough, and they will also have consequences for us in the EU," Weber stated. He emphasized that the leaders of the European Union must be honest with the public: "Sanctions and other consequences of the war will cost something. The prices of energy carriers and food products will rise. Production in the EU has already been limited," the politician summarized.

Nevertheless, he called for an expansion of the imposed anti-Russian sanctions. "Previous SWIFT sanctions can be significantly expanded, especially against the remaining large banks and other sectors," Weber concluded.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24 that a special military operation in Ukraine would be carried out in response to a request for assistance from the leaders of the Donbas republics. He emphasized that Moscow’s plans do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories; the goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, Russian soldiers are not targeting cities in Ukraine but are using precision measures to incapacitate military infrastructure, thus ensuring nothing threatens the civilian population, TASS reported.