Italy initiated the exclusion of the energy sector from the discussed sanctions against Russia, after which other EU countries began to consider such a possibility. This was reported on February 17 by Bloomberg, citing sources.
It is noted that Germany and France are among the EU countries discussing the exclusion of economic restrictions.
“The government of Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi is discussing with EU partners how to reduce the impact of sanctions (against Russia. – Ed.) on key sectors of the Italian economy, including discussions on the exclusion of financial sanctions for the energy sector,” the material says. editions.
Rome sent a non-paper to the European Commission last month outlining Italy’s concerns about the potential impact of sanctions on its economy, according to the publication.
In addition, as reported to sources, Italy and Germany seek to protect the banking sector from the possible consequences of sanctions against the Russian Federation. In particular, Rome proposes to impose restrictions on individual Russians, rather than on broad areas of the Russian economy.
At the same time, Italy asked the EC to develop a mechanism to mitigate the consequences of sanctions for EU countries, sources told the agency.
Earlier on Thursday, the head of diplomacy of the European Union (EU), Josep Borrell, said that the draft package of sanctions against the Russian Federation is ready and will be proposed in the event of an aggravation of the situation around Ukraine. Borrell added that the first sanctions will affect the energy sector.
On February 15, the President of the State Council of Italy, Franco Frattini, said that the European Union needs Russian natural gas, because of this fact there is a difficulty in imposing sanctions against the Russian Federation.
The G7 countries, meanwhile, expressed their readiness to impose sanctions against Russia against the backdrop of the situation in Ukraine, which will have large-scale and immediate consequences for the Russian economy.
At the end of January, the head of EU diplomacy reported that the EU was working on new sanctions against the Russian Federation, which could lead to “serious costs for the Russian economy and financial system.” In particular, it considers “export control measures that would have a long-term effect, depriving Russia of the goods it needs to realize its strategic ambitions.”
On January 25, the United States announced that American sanctions against the Russian Federation in the event of an “invasion of Ukraine” would be tougher than in 2014, when the ruble fell by 50%. The White House also warned about the preparation against Russia of restrictions on the supply of complex technologies. On the same day, US President Joe Biden said that he did not rule out the imposition of personal sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In response, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov drew attention to the fact that US calls for sanctions against the head of state are politically destructive, but not painful. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in turn, noted that Moscow is ready for any development of events.
In recent weeks, articles in the Western media have repeatedly appeared about the alleged possible Russian invasion of Ukraine. Against this background, American lawmakers are calling for tougher sanctions against Moscow. Russia has repeatedly rejected reports of an alleged possible invasion of Ukraine.
Source: IZ
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.
