BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th June, 2019) The front of Russia sanctions supporters is still united in Europe but cracks are starting to appear in the unanimous positions of the bloc, as more and more major politicians are calling for the lifting of the counterproductive and self-destructive restrictions.
Brussels imposed sanctions on Moscow following the United States' example after Crimea's reunification with Russia and the secession of two small Donbas republics from Ukraine in 2014. Russia reacted with a series of countermeasures of its own, introducing an embargo on European products, mainly agricultural.
POSITIONS ARE CHANGING IN EUROPE
Until recently, only right-wing parties, such as Marine Le Pen's National Rally in France, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Germany and Matteo Salvini's Lega in Italy supported the lifting of Russia sanctions for different reasons. Some cited the sanctions inefficiency, some understood the fact that Crimea became a part of Russia, while others just sought to improve relations with Europe's major neighbor to the East.
"As I have always said, the sanctions are there to last simply because no one knows how to get out of it without losing face. The European Union decision-making process is long and complex as long as the unanimity rule exists in the Council," Nina Bachkatov,�a professor at the Belgian University of Liege and specialist on Russia and Eurasia, told Sputnik.
The professor opined that Moscow should now wait until the end of the year, when major political forces in key European institutions would be determined.
"Russia must also wait, like everyone else, to have more information about its future European interlocutors. Important EU positions are still in negotiation, [including] president of the Commission, of the Council, of parliament, of the Foreign Affairs committees, etc.," Bachkatov said.
According to Bachkatov, Europe will be bypassing sanctions on Russia more and more often unless there is another severe crisis in relations with Moscow.
"So in my opinion, the sanctions will remain in place but being more and more circumvented de facto, unless Russia embarks on a new misguided adventure," the professor said.
The expert added that concerns repeatedly voiced by European agricultural producers over Russian food embargo, had little role to play when it came to decision-making in relation to Russia sanctions.
"Regarding the effect on fruit growers and others in Europe, they have been complaining since the beginning of the sanctions without moving deciders, because they represent a small percentage of the population and, therefore, are voters that the European Union can afford to dissatisfy," Bachkatov said.
French independent member of the European Parliament Aymeric Chauprade, who was reelected to the EU legislature in last month's elections, said in his comments to Sputnik that Crimea's reunification with Russia was quite natural.
"Crimea is historically Russian and therefore reunification is logical. The United States, followed by submissive Europeans, artificially created a state of Kosovo in a historically Serbian province and now they would demand that Russia gives up one of its historical provinces?" Chauprade argued.
According to the French politician, Europe now has a choice to look at the whole Crimea situation more realistically and lift counterproductive sanctions, which not only affect agriculture in the European Union, but also diminish the potential of cooperation between Brussels and Moscow.
"[Or] the European Union remains a prisoner of its anti-Russian ideologues and it could very well remain [in] a geopolitical and economic impasse because of it," the European lawmaker added.
ALL MAJOR GERMAN PARTIES CALL FOR LIFTING RUSSIA SANCTIONS UNILATERALLY
Since 2017, Christian Lindner, the chairman of the German liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) has been candidly clear about the effects of Russia sanctions, arguing that they are counterproductive and hurt German companies.
Lindner, in particular, suggested accepting Crimea's reunification with Russia as a permanent fact. So doing, he supported the position of German business that did not appreciate at all the political decision to sanction Russia and get the boomerang in the face.
In the eastern German Federal state of Saxony, it is the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party in Saxony, Michael Kretschmer, who has met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and said unequivocally that sanctions on Russia must be canceled, since they are counterproductive.
By contrast, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the leader of the CDU, which is a part of Germany's grand parliamentary coalition along with the Christian Social Union in Bavaria's (CSU) and the social democrats, sees no room for change in economic cooperation with Russia and defends the sanctions.
CSU undisputed leader and current Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, in turn, has repeatedly declared that the sanctions make no sense.
A favorable position toward Russia is also taken by Bodo Ramelow, a member of The Left party and the president of the east-central federal state of Thuringen, who has said that the trenches between Germany and Russia must be bridged.
The acting leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the minister president of the northern federal state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Manuela Schwesig, has advocated prudence in the debates on Russia, while almost 80 percent of local residents have been sympathetic to Russia and supported the expansion of cooperation with Russia despite the difficult international situation.
With a growing number of top politicians in the CDU, The Left and the SPD favoring the abolition of the sanctions, Germany is more and more inclined to support the interests of entrepreneurs suffering under the restrictions.
"There is now more hope that fruitful discussions will start between the European Union and Russia, but we need to wait for the new European Commission to be in place and the new high commissioner for foreign affairs be designated ... I would say real negotiations to de-escalate the sanctions could start at the end of 2019 ... We see that more and more German politicians mention the need to suppress the sanctions ... So let us be patient, but definitely, we can expect some progress at the end of 2019," Aldo Carcaci, a retiring Belgian lawmaker, told Sputnik.
The lawmaker also noted the reduced tensions on the Ukraine issue.
"Violence in the Donbas region has abated even if you cannot call it peace yet, and the new Ukrainian president seems less of a warmonger as [former President Petro] Poroshenko. It is an opportunity for Europe to take encouraging steps and gradually suppress the European sanctions. Russia would gradually do the same," Carcaci said.
He also expressed hope for the Minsk peace process to continue "on its own."
