BERLIN: The political standoff between the West and Russia has put many through difficult times. Russia is living through a severe crisis, exacerbated by EU sanctions – but that’s as business in Europe also is in trouble, as the loss of a major partner has dealt a blow to prosperity. Can the European Union afford the confrontation, given the state some of its economies are in, and the dissent that is growing within some member states? Does the EU even need this confrontation – or is it simply following some larger agenda? We ask these questions to the Vice-President of Germany’s Left Party and Member of the
The President of the European Council Donald Tusk has said that toughening of sanctions against Russia is unlikely, he’s also admitted that there’s a group of EU members that wants an end to these sanctions. Is there a chance that there will be a change of EU policies in this regard?
Sahra Wagenknecht:I really hope so, because it’s obvious that these sanctions have no positive results. They have a harmful influence on the Russian economy. They have a harmful influence on the European economy. In Germany a number of enterprises are suffering from a drop of their sales levels. This policy is absolutely meaningless, and that’s why we call for an end to these sanctions. I don’t know if the EU will move in this direction, everything depends on the pressure it’s under. But we won’t be able to reach an understanding with these tools, we won’t be able to move forward, to build better relations. On the contrary, our relations will only become worse.
