SUPPORT FOR THE LIFTING OF RUSSIAN SANCTIONS

The European Union is divided over the future of its own sanctions regime against Russia. The EU program will come under increased scrutiny as its July 31 expiration date draws near and Member States debate whether to revise their policy toward Moscow.

Support for the lifting of sanctions includes the following Member States:

1. Austria
2. Bulgaria
3. Cyprus
4. Czech Republic
5. France
6. Greece
7. Hungary
8. Italy
9. Slovakia.

Those Member States have questioned the measures' efficacy, arguing that they hurt EU businesses in Russia without necessarily improving the situation in eastern Ukraine. The governments in those countries insist that to resolve the Ukrainian conflict, the European Union must establish a rapport with Moscow rather than punish it. As the next EU vote on the issue approaches, Germany will probably try to preserve the sanctions.

France may prove a valuable ally to progressively lift the sanctions against Moscow after its presidential elections in April and May. The main contenders for France's presidency, representing the center-right and far-right, both support improving the European Union's ties with Moscow, ostensibly for economic reasons. (Business organizations in the country have been lobbying for an end to the measures). But there are also deeper ideological and geopolitical calculations at play: French conservatives want to return to a Gaullist foreign policy in which Paris is as independent as possible and strikes a balance between Russia and the US. From this point of view, the current Socialist administration has been too Atlanticist. The far right, meanwhile, wants France to be a fully sovereign country that does not have to acquiesce to the European Union's foreign policy decisions. French nationalists also have an ideological affinity with Russia, which they see as a beacon of nationalist and Christian values.

France will probably advocate lifting sanctions gradually in exchange for modest progress in eastern Ukraine instead of demanding a complete and immediate end to the system of punitive measures.

This approach could gain support from many of the governments that disagree with the sanctions. Poland and the Baltic states, on the other hand, will resist changes to the sanctions regime, though they may eventually be outnumbered. Debate over the future of EU sanctions against Russia will surely intensify as their expiration date draws closer. 

Member States Positions

Austria: Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern called for a rethink on sanctions imposed on Russia, saying that the regime of penalties over Kremlin-backed incursions in Ukraine has failed to yield enough progress. The European Union may need to consider new ways to put leverage on President Vladimir Putin to bring more success and be less economically damaging to Europe. Austria favors a partial lifting of penalties in exchange for progress in adhering to the so-called Minsk peace process.

Bulgaria: President Rumen Radev does not see what is the practical use of sanctions against Russia as the losses are obvious.

Cyprus: Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades has said that sanctions imposed by the EU against Russia do not offer a chance for dialogue and problem resolution. On the contrary, they keep the parties apart and there is a need to normalize relations. Cyprus is losing out because of countersanctions imposed by Russia against the EU. Sanctions imposed against Russia turned out to be counterproductive and do not contribute to resolving the crisis in Ukraine. They have instead solely negative political and economic consequences both for Russia and all EU Member States.

Czech Republic: According to former President Vaclav Klaus, citizens of the Czech Republic want anti-Russian sanctions to be lifted.Sanctions against Russia haven't achieved anything. On the one hand, it has weakened trade, but more importantly, it has worsened the investment situation and led to number of foreign companies no longer investing in Russia - and that is a more serious effect than narrowing the range of goods. Serving Czech politicians including President Milos Zeman and Parliament Speaker Milan Stech have also urged the lifting of anti-Russian sanctions.

France: French presidential candidate Francois Fillon says that the European Union's economic sanctions against Russia are ineffective and called for dialogue with Moscow. We must find another way to talk. France's far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has urged an end to the European Union (EU) sanctions imposed against Russia over the crisis in Ukraine. She also pledged to push for the abolition of the blacklist of certain Russian individuals.

Greece: Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has said sanctions on Russia over its actions in Ukraine are not productive. The counter-sanctions imposed by Russia have inflicted pain on the Greek economy. But we know the retaliations were a response to sanctions [against Russia], the logic of which we do not entirely share. We openly disapproved of the sanctions. It is not an efficient solution. To get out of this profound crisis we need to leave behind this vicious cycle of sanctions.

Hungary: Mr. Victor Orbán has condemned the sansctions imposed by the European Union against Russia, Unfortunately, in the western half of the continent, anti-Russian policy has become fashionable. The Hungarian economy is counting its losses from the food embargo introduced by the Kremlin in response to US and EU sanctions against Moscow, according to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto. The loss of profit for Hungary amounts to $6.5 billion over the last three years. We are speaking about exports. Given that the annual volume of Hungarian exports is about $90 billion, the losses are biting.

Italy: The Italian position is the defense of Italy’s economic interests, as the country has deeply suffered because of the Russian counter-sanctions: It has been estimated that Italian exporters lost $4 billion in earnings between 2013 and 2015. Italy has questioned the automatic renewal of EU penalties against Moscow. Italy is also the second-largest consumer of Russian exports, as the import of Russian gas accounts for about 42 percent of all Italian gas. consumption. The current caretaker Italian government formed in the aftermath of Renzi’s referendum defeat in December of 2016, is even more likely to want to establish its own legitimacy by leading a pragmatic fight against sanctions.

Slovakia: Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has called for the EU to end sanctions against Russia saying they had failed to influence the settlement of any key issues. Personally, I think it is time to view the sanctions rationally and to say that they harm both the EU and Russia. They have brought absolutely nothing to (solving) the sensitive questions which they were supposed to influence. We agreed with Vladimir Putin that our common pursuit is to revive our mutual trade again. Slovakia imports almost all its gas and oil from Russia, as well as nuclear fuel to generate two power plants. It exports cars to Russia, though these are just a fraction of its exports to the EU.