Losses Due to Sanctions Grow in the West, valdaiclub.com

Ulrike Reisner, freelance political analyst

At the end of August, the Scientific Service of the German Bundestag published a report. The report received virtually no media coverage in German-speaking countries. The starting point is questions about the economic consequences of sanctions and countermeasures for member states of the European Union, the United Kingdom, as well as Russia. This publication provides a number of important economic facts and figures. All data is sufficiently supported by reliable sources. […]

This is true. In the West, the topic of sanctions against Russia has been viewed very one-sidedly by politicians and the media since the very beginning. Basically, only individual economic indicators are mentioned. But it is not enough to look at the trade balance between the European Union and the Russian Federation. It is not enough to look at the profits or losses of those companies that have suffered from sanctions. A particularly important aspect is the macroeconomic impact. They usually appear with a time lag and are cumulative in nature. […]

The economic consequences of sanctions for Europe are already far-reaching: “While the direct fiscal impact of caring for refugees, increasing military spending and strengthening energy autonomy remains limited, the impact of rising energy and food prices on national income and its distribution is potentially significant.” (page 8) Inflation in the European Union and the UK has been rising since 2021. It reached its preliminary peak in October 2022 and amounted to 11.5% (EU) and 11, 1% (UK). Läs artikel