Several European countries are now preparing for the consequences of sanctions against Russia following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, not least in the financial sector. Italy has called for milder measures that have a limited effect on Russian banks. Austria has taken similar steps, while the Austrian Raiffeisen Bank maintains hundreds of branches in Russia.
Italian authorities have also called for luxury goods such as Gucci and Prada to be exempted from the European Union action package so that luxury goods can continue to be exported to Russia. The Belgian authorities have also called for the exemption of jewels, as Antwerp is one of the largest diamond trade centers in Europe.
Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, drew attention to possible restrictions on the export of luxury goods, which are popular among wealthy Russians as well as important exporting countries, in TÃsti, which he subsequently removed. “No more: shopping trips to Milan, excursions to Saint Tropez, diamonds from Antwerp,” Borrell wrote.
Donald Tusk, a Polish and former president of the Council of Europe, has criticized key EU member states for failing to impose tougher sanctions than has been planned or planned, including the fact that Russian banks have not been expelled from SWIFT.
“In this war, everything is real: Putin’s madness and cruelty, Ukrainian victims, bombings in Kyiv. Only our sanctions are not real. “These European governments, which have refused difficult decisions (such as Germany, Hungary, and Italy), have been embarrassed,” Tusk said.
