Rebecca Harms, a member of the European Parliament for Alliance 90/The Greens, stated in her interview with LIGA.net that the European Union will not impose new sanctions against Russia. “Frankly speaking, if we are able to save the acting sanctions in the European Union, we will have a tool to exert pressure on Russia and it would be good,” the politician noted.

According to Harms, there is opposition to the extension of sanctions against Russia in many EU countries. In particular, German Social Democrats, who are the ruling Coalition, are ready to normalize relations with the Kremlin. Harms also doubted the majority of EU countries would support Savchenko’s sanctions list.

“Savchenko’s list was approved by Lithuania and probably the other Baltic States will accept it but the other countries will not join them,” said Harms, expressing her reservations.

Meanwhile, she noted that the United States and the European Union should increase pressure on Moscow because it has yet to comply with the conditions of Minsk Agreements. On the 28th of April, the Deputies to the Lower Chamber of the French Parliament of the National Assembly approved a resolution calling for the government to oppose sanctions against Russia.

Sanctions against Russia were imposed by the USA, the European Union, Australia, Canada, Japan and Norway in several stages in 2014. After the annexation of Crimea, the USA and the European Union imposed personal sanctions against politicians and other citizens of Russia and Ukraine, who were responsible for undermining the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Economic sanctions were then imposed in the summer of 2014 (the USA imposed their economic sanctions in spring) after Russian aggression in Eastern Ukraine. In late December 2015, the U.S. Department of the Treasury strengthened sanctions, and not only against Russian citizens. Additionally, the U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed sectoral sanctions against a wide range of companies.

  EU, European Parliament, Russia, Sanctions

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