DISINFO: European sanctions against Russia do not work
SUMMARY
European sanctions against Russia do not work; Germany and Europe want to be at war with Russia again.
RESPONSE
This statement contains two recurring pro-Kremlin narratives. The first one claims that Western sanctions on Russia do not have any effect on the Russian economy and the second alleges that the EU wants a war with Russia.
The EU sanctions against Russia were adopted as a reaction to the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the deliberate destabilisation of Ukraine.
The annexation of Crimea and the consequent imposing of sanctions by the West sparked a wave of net capital outflows. The Central Bank of Russia recorded in 2014 that net capital outflows from companies and banks reached $151.1 billion compared to $61 billion the year before.
According to research into the effect of sanctions, the cumulative export loss to Russia during 2014-2018 is estimated at EUR 30 billion (about -0.2% of EU’s GDP in 2018). While these sanctions do effect EU's economy, the EU-wide impacts of the export losses are estimated at less than 0.2% of total value-added and employment.
NATO, which includes 21 EU member states, does not want war with Russia and previously stated that their "exercises and military deployments are not directed against Russia." Instead, NATO remains open to meaningful dialogue with Russia. However, in response to Russia's aggressive actions against Ukraine, NATO suspended practical cooperation with Russia.