EU sanctions against Russia don't work
The EU's sanctions against Russia are not working, German tabloid Bild has reported, citing substantial energy export revenues that Moscow has continued to rake in despite Western attempts to curb them.
The Russian economy has continued to grow despite sweeping economic restrictions on Moscow imposed following the escalation of the the Ukraine conflict in 2022, including bans on seaborne oil shipments, financial and aviation-related restrictions, as well as the freezing of about $300 billion in Russian reserves.
In an analysis piece on Tuesday, Bild described the latest, 17th package of EU sanctions against Moscow as 'just a drop in the ocean,' when compared with the projected €233 billion ($253 billion) that Russia is expected to gross from energy and raw material exports this year.
According to the publication, the EU is the fourth largest importer of Russian energy, behind only China, India, and Türkiye, with the bloc reportedly on track to shell out more than €20 billion for Russian oil, gas and uranium in 2025.
The EU has moved to reduce its energy dependence on Russia, once its largest supplier, since February 2022.
However expensive alternatives to Russian oil and gas have meant that private households and industry giants across the bloc have borne the brunt of higher energy prices – Germany's automotive and chemical industries among them.
The bloc's latest round of sanctions introduced earlier this month target a so-called 'shadow fleet' of vessels operating outside of Western insurance frameworks which Brussels claims is being used by Russia to evade G7-led efforts to enforce a price cap on its crude oil exports.
Several EU countries have opposed the bloc's sanctions on Russia, with Hungary and Slovakia the most vocal among them. Last week, Italian-Russian Chamber of Commerce President Vincenzo Trani urged Rome to consider lifting sanctions against Moscow, saying that they are harming Italy's economy.
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed the growth of the Russian economy over the past two years despite 'rather difficult conditions.'
He noted the country's economy has risen to fourth place globally by purchasing power parity (PPP) – an analysis metric that compares economic productivity and living standards between countries by adjusting for differences in the cost of goods and services – behind only China, the US, and India.
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