Europe must overcome its "sanctions fatigue" and intensify economic pressure on Moscow. EU Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis made this point in an interview with Euractiv after highly controversial French-led efforts secured the removal of two Russian oligarchs from the bloc’s blacklist, UNN reports.
Details
The governments of the bloc’s countries must "remain focused [and] not weaken or fall apart right now, because that is exactly what Russia is waiting for," the EU economy commissioner said in an interview with Euractiv on Tuesday, September 22.
"It is clear that there is a certain amount of fatigue [after] almost five years of war," added the experienced EU commissioner from Latvia.
"But from the very beginning, we committed to continuing to support Ukraine for as long as necessary, continuing to put pressure on Russia for as long as necessary, and it is important to stay the course," Dombrovskis emphasized.
His comments came after France succeeded on Tuesday evening, September 22, in removing Russian-Uzbek oligarch Alisher Usmanov from the EU sanctions list, prompting Luxembourg to seek the removal of Russian-Israeli billionaire Mikhail Fridman from the list. Both men had been under sanctions since 2022 because of their ties to Vladimir Putin’s war.
In a shocking move, Latvia blocked the proposed delisting late on Monday, September 21, but on Tuesday lifted its veto under pressure from Paris. Sanctions require the support of all 27 EU countries.
The turbulent events of Tuesday recalled an episode in July, when the EU’s latest sanctions package—the 21st since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine—was delayed for weeks by Greece, which demanded an exemption from the ban on supplying Russian liquefied natural gas, the publication notes.
What Dombrovskis proposes
Asked whether the EU sanctions regime should be changed so that it would not require unanimity—something previously proposed by Germany and Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission—Dombrovskis replied that this was "not possible immediately," as it would require changes to the EU treaties, which in turn would require the unanimous approval of all 27 capitals.
Instead, he said, Europe must find the political will to continue supporting Ukraine and intensify economic pressure on the Kremlin.
"There have been many peace initiatives," Dombrovskis said, referring to US efforts to end the war. "We have seen that Russia is not interested in any of these initiatives. It is interested only in continuing its aggression."
"In such a situation… the only way is to increase pressure on Russia," he added.
"It is clear that Putin and Russia will not stop on their own. They must be stopped," Dombrovskis emphasized.