Hungary has already opposed tough sanctions.
Various experts in the wake of the most powerful anti-Russian sanctions are making forecasts for Europe. Previously, a number of countries have already begun to speak out against restrictions that will affect them themselves.
So, Japan expressed its disapproval to Russia that it was included in the list of unfriendly countries. And Hungary did not support the expansion of anti-Russian sanctions on the energy sector.
The Finance Ministry stressed that this would be the greatest threat to the national currency and local residents.
In an interview with Focus magazine, economist Daniel Stelter said that the restrictions for Russia are not so critical. Although the reaction of the EU countries, of course, is tough.
The expert called the freezing of Russian loans a smart move, but Russia will remain autonomous in any case – it has revenues from oil and gas exports.
Stelter noted that the situation in the European economy at the same time “deteriorated markedly.” The goods that were supplied from Ukraine are coming to an abrupt end – these are semiconductors, neon or agricultural raw materials.
If the military confrontation and sanctions continue, the situation may develop according to two scenarios – “bad” and “very bad”, the expert is sure.
“Bad: we get stagflation, that is, price increases with the stagnation of the economy. The surge in inflation is already visible now, and we are facing a huge problem in the field of food,” the economist says.
Russia and Ukraine supplied 35% of wheat exports to the West. Ukraine also has 90% of sunflower supplies. Corn and barley were shipped in large quantities.
Arab grain importers from Ukraine may lack goods. This will lead to unrest in the Middle East. This means that Europe will receive another wave of refugees.
“Perhaps we should even buy wheat at a high price and resell it cheaper to these countries to counter this,” the expert adds.
China was smarter – it built warehouses, stocked up on raw materials, and Europe did not have stocks. Gas, coal, and food prices have started to rise.
The toughest scenario for Europe will be a complete embargo on energy resources from Russia. With a boycott of Russian oil and gas, huge inflation will result, and the economy will be destroyed.
“Sanctions always hurt both sides – ultimately, the question is who will last longer,” the economist believes.
Stelter warned that Russia will get closer to China, and this will not do anything good for Europe. By the way, it is China that will win in the confrontation.
It is also more tragic that Ukraine and Russia will now be the most difficult to bring closer to Europe – even, most likely, impossible.
RIA Novosti, referring to EU MP Thierry Mariani, warns of a catastrophe for the European Union in case of rejection of Russian gas and oil. Mariani recalled that oil is paid in dollars, and the euro has fallen heavily against the US currency.
The expert also noted that Europe is now behaving emotionally – it does not yet know what to add to the sanctions. And as a result, Russia will survive a difficult time, recover and become even stronger.
As Topnews wrote earlier, Russia has compiled a list of 48 countries that are unfriendly to us. Among them are all members of the European Union, Britain, etc.
Now the states from the list are obliged to make settlements on foreign currency obligations only in rubles.