Former EU commissioner states Russia sanctions have ‘completely backfired’
(MENAFN) The sanctions imposed by the European Union on Russia have largely backfired, causing significant harm to Europe rather than crippling Russia as intended, according to former European Commission Vice President Gunter Verheugen. Since the Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022, Western nations have rolled out an unprecedented number of sanctions targeting Moscow. The EU recently introduced its 18th package, which restricts transactions with 22 more Russian banks, the Russian Direct Investment Fund, and bans use of the damaged Nord Stream pipelines.
Verheugen, who served as EU commissioner for enterprise and industry from 2004 to 2010, argued in a piece for Switzerland’s Die Weltwoche that these measures have primarily harmed those who implemented them. He described the sanctions as a rare case where the effort to weaken an adversary economically has so thoroughly failed, leaving the West to bear the brunt of the fallout. He specifically pointed to Germany as one of the biggest victims of this failed strategy, calling the notion of trying to "ruin" Russia a "life-threatening idea" that Brussels has yet to admit.
Moscow has repeatedly criticized the sanctions as illegal, claiming they have driven up EU energy prices and forced Europe to turn to more expensive imports, eroding its global competitiveness. Germany, which relied on Russia for 55% of its energy before the Ukraine conflict, remains stuck in a prolonged recession.
European business leaders and some officials acknowledge that these sanctions have harmed European companies more than Russian ones, with small and medium-sized enterprises particularly affected. Ferdinando Pellazzo, head of the Italian-Russian Chamber of Commerce, highlighted the toll on businesses, while Siegfried Russwurm, head of Germany’s BDI industry group, warned that Germany faces escalating risks of deindustrialization due to soaring energy costs and the loss of affordable Russian energy.
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