Are the sanctions damaging Russia more than the German economy? The debate is held again and again in Germany. The Ministry of Economic Affairs is now providing a forecast.
The federal government considers the sanctions imposed because of the Ukraine war to be effective and expects an economic slump of up to 15 percent in Russia this year. This emerges from a response from the Federal Ministry of Economics to the Left MP Sören Pellmann, which is available to the dpa. Pellmann doubts the assessment.
The ministry’s response said: “The sanctions are hitting the Russian economy hard and will continue to have an impact. Serious calculations are predicting a recession in Russia, which means a reduction in Russia’s gross domestic product in a range of 6 to 15 percent for the year 2022. ” The Council of the EU assumes that Russia’s gross domestic product will fall by “more than eleven percent”.
Six sanction packages
After the Russian attack on Ukraine, Germany and the other EU countries jointly agreed on six sanctions packages, including a coal and an oil embargo. The ministry’s response said the punitive measures against Moscow were aimed at those responsible for the Ukraine war and at the Russian state’s ability to finance it. “Among other things, the sanctions have an impact on the course of the war, since they weaken military capabilities and the industrial base in the long term.”
It goes on to say: “The sanctions of the EU and its partners are deliberately designed in such a way that their effects hit Russia much harder than the EU”. However, the government concedes that due to the economic ties, there are also effects on the states that have imposed the sanctions.
Pellmann doubts
Pellmann commented that “the German government’s continued claim that the sanctions would harm Russia more than us is misguided”. Rather, the Russian President Vladimir Putin will hardly be hit, but Germany and especially the East will be hit very hard. “We need an honest inventory of the effect of the sanctions,” said the East German representative of the left-wing faction of the dpa. “Ruining down private households and production in this country is no help for Ukraine.”
Source: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
