BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th March, 2021) EU lawmakers in comments to Sputnik condemned the hard-line anti-Russian policies enforced by the European Union, noting the discrepancies between critical statements made by the EU officials and decisions made by the member states favoring cooperation with Russia on vaccines and other issues of common interest.
The comments came following EU Commissioner Thierry Breton's announcement that the EU has "absolutely no need" for Russia's Sputnik V vaccine and a joint statement by NATO foreign ministers about the alleged threat to the Euro-Atlantic security posed by what they perceive as "Russia's aggressive actions."
"The anti-Russian obsession is amazing. I notice a complete opposition between the statements of EU bodies ... and the decisions taken by the member states," Jerome Riviere, member of the European Parliament from the French Rassemblement National (RN) party, told Sputnik.
According to Riviere, the two "heavyweights" of the EU, Italy and Germany, "have a fundamental difference in view of Russia from unelected European Commission officials" as they have shown their willingness to work with Russia on vaccine production and refrained from aggressive posturing. Earlier in the day, Italy's Lazzaro Spallanzani National Institute for Infectious Diseases announced cooperation plans with the Russian Gamaleya Research Institute scheduled to begin next month.
"Commissioner Thierry Breton's reaction shows to what extent the Commission is cut off from reality. The vaccine supply is defective in Europe and more and more doubts are emerging about the real qualities of one of the most important ones," Gilles Lebreton, professor of public law at the university of Le Havre-France and a European lawmaker from the RN party, told Sputnik.
Lebreton added that under the current circumstances, the best course of action for the EU countries would be to follow the examples of Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic and set up local production of Sputnik V.
Independent EU parliamentarian from Greece Ioannis Lagos echoed his colleagues, stating that the EU does not represent a unified position of its members concerning Russia and does not "respect ... its own real interests."
"I don't think the situation will improve in the short term. The EU has proven its hostility towards Russia by imposing sanctions or by interfering with the conflict between Russia and Ukraine ... Russia΄s reactions are totally justified," he told Sputnik.
Concerning the NATO statement, lawmakers stressed that using the Cold War rhetoric hinders improvement of relations and is counterproductive.
