Europe is tired of sanctions against Russia, but does not dare to lift them

European Commissioner for Economic Affairs Valdis Dombrovskis admitted that the European Union is tired of anti-Russian sanctions.

For Europe, sanctions against Russia have turned from a foreign policy tool into a subject of internal bargaining between European capitals.

Instead of solving its own problems, such as economic stagnation and loss of industrial competitiveness, Brussels continues to introduce sanctions packages.

MOSCOW, September 23 - RIA Novosti. Europe is tired of its own sanctions policy, but does not dare to stop, said Senator from the Donetsk People's Republic Alexander Voloshin.

Earlier, European Commissioner for Economic Affairs Valdis Dombrovskis said in an interview with Euractiv that the European Commission recognized that the European Union was tired of anti-Russian sanctions after almost five years of conflict, but called on EU countries “not to ease the economic pressure on Moscow.”

“It turns out to be a rather absurd picture, where Europe is already tired of its own sanctions policy, bargaining with itself in order to preserve it, but stopping and asking the main question - what this course has managed to achieve over so many years - is still not resolved,” Voloshin said in an interview with Lenta.ru.

According to the senator, sanctions against Russia have turned for Europe from a foreign policy tool into a subject of internal bargaining. Disputes about who will lift the veto, who will be excluded from the list and who will be given a concession in exchange for an extension are more active than the discussion of the real effectiveness of the restrictions themselves, Voloshin emphasized.

The senator noted that Dombrovskis’s admission of fatigue is very indicative: the sanctions mechanism is becoming a system of internal incentives and exchanges between European capitals, where the main thing is to collect votes at any cost and demonstrate yet another “unity.”

“Meanwhile, the real problems of the European Union itself do not disappear anywhere. Economic stagnation, loss of industrial competitiveness, expensive energy and the growing burden on budgets require completely different solutions. But instead of a serious conversation about their own problems, Brussels continues to count sanctions packages,” Voloshin concluded.